Three Words, Eight Letters
by Parizz
Summary: A sarcastic Seftis fairytale romance gone wrong. Signing a contract after a fault, the first to say "I love you" within eighteen months loses the game and pays the price. A supposed sequel of "Betting on a Fairytale Ending" with a higher level of maturity, it can be a story well on its own.
1. Dollet is Purgatory

A/N: As it turned out, I made a sequel for my fic _"Betting on a Fairytale Ending"_...but it can stand independently on its own. The reason why I made this a sequel is because the fic that I've formulated fitted quite nicely on its prequel...so yeah. And also, don't expect this to be a fairytale thing that's all fuzzy and cheesy like my initial fic, in fact, it's almost a joke. Why the change of heart? I've recently realized how fun it is to strike bitterness with humor…not that I'm a bitter person, mind you. Also, just think of the fic this way: I'm the one telling the story, so it's gonna be my point of view toward telling you the story in a third person perspective. And lastly, if you wanna enjoy my humor here, think of the tone as "_dramatically bitter and sarcastic" _and that goes on throughout the chapters. Enjoy!

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**Purgatory is Dollet**

Chapter 1

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It was a sunny October morning. The sky was blue; the clouds looked like puffs of cotton, blah-blah up to the chirping birds and blooming flowers, etcetera, etcetera. It was presumably supposed that birds must have been singing out somewhere in the landscape, but couldn't be heard above the rumbling of the train's farting engine.

_Chirp-chirp-chirp_ went the bird.

As the bird gazed upon the colourful scenic view of the dancing daffodils, down came the train at 180kph.

_Zzzooooohhhummmm!_

And down too came the then happy bird's entrails on the train's metal railing. Half of its existence was left to evaporate into dust, while the other half of it was on its way to Dollet like a sticky bubblegum on a traveller's shoe.

Seifer watched a stray feather flew in front of him outside the train's tinted window.

_Yup, it was a perfect day indeed._

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**o O o**

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He waded through a pile of scattered bags and found a seat near the back of the train, not the best seat. He settled down. It was too late for worries; and besides, he would be out on another unpredictable adventure on the other side of the continent. Even with the possibility of being kicked out if the train somewhere along the way, it was a good deal—he was after all, hitching a free ride. A fifteen minute ride on a train and being thrown overboard off an 180kph speeding vehicle will always beat a wrenching 250 something kilometre walk; unless, of course, he'd lose his life in the process of tumbling over the rock infested field at an approximation of five rolls per second.

The moment he settled in his seat, he decided to shorten the travel time by taking a nap, but before he could shut his eyes he was awakened by a blast of hot air by the man sitting across him. The man was a portly seventyish man with the kind of hair that is often mistaken for a wig, but is ironically his own. On his pinkie was a gold ring with a dark green stone; it was so tight that it was cutting off circulation. A heavy gold bracelet peeked out from under the cuff of the man's shiny pale green shirt. It was not his coiffure that Seifer minded, but the fact that he wouldn't shut up. He was a perpetual yakking machine: "Blablablah my life blablabla the First Sorceress War blablablah in those days blahblablah."

There was much rolling of eyeball among passengers, and it required no linguistic ability to figure out that the general mumbling meant: "Shut up."

"Blablablahbla-bla-bla if only I had blablabla thirty years ago I was a blahblahblah a word of advice blablabla...zzZZzzzZzzZZzzzz." He considered it an achievement that he did not hurl the old grunt through the window of the moving train, thereby preserving world peace.

The moment the old man fell asleep he hustled further to the back of the train and sat near the exit; in case of another such incident it would be easy for him to push the man off the train. Just when he thought he found peace, a train attendant approached him with a tray of train food. He looked at the grub which seemed to be mutating before his very eyes.

The..._thing_...looked liked a dollop of mashed potato sprinkled with bits of pubic hair and sawdust swimming in a pool of animal fat. The smell was a mix of ginger, yogurt, and oddly enough fresh cut weed. And the worst part? It tasted like paper soiled in glue.

"I'm done." He jabbed the paper box toward the attendant after sampling a teaspoon of..._it_.

She raised a nasty brow, "Can I see your ticket?"

"Why?" it was a cautious voice, he had no ticket.

"We charge extra for every spoon of wasted food." She said in a tone that seemed to threaten his life.

He stared at the food, and then he stared out the window and saw the blurring scenery of various rocks jutting out the ground like giant thumbtacks. It was a tough choice: death or _death_..."But if I eat all this, then we're good?" he checked, just in case he'd eat the grub and still be forced to show his ticket and thrown overboard upon presenting a scratch paper, then self-murder via plastic fork would be a better option.

"Of course, as long as you swallow every bit of morsel, then we're fine." She smiled, a kind of smile associated with the devil.

He gulped a mouthful of spit. It would be the only good thing he'd taste in the next few hours. In one quick breath, he held out his snack and shoved it down his throat. He passed out in the process of swallowing, gaining consciousness only after twenty minutes of dead brain activity.

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**o O o**

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One and a half hours scrunched into a seat getting his vertebrates rearranged, the bathroom at the other end of the room accessible by walking sideways down a narrow aisle through a gauntlet of unopened boxes, food which made him yearn for recycled cardboard, washrooms which, if he wasn't a professional contortionist, was clearly designed to make him pee on his shoes. Sitting down for so long, he felt his blood concentrated in his buns.

After much argument between his left and right brain lobes, he came into a conclusion. _He had to pee_. Again.

Dammit, why did he drink so much water after his free goo-grub! Well, one: it tasted better than the main course; and two: the attendant was looking at him with eyes which told him to gulp down every served food be it fungus or mud water, or suffer the consequences far worse than a stomach disorder.

He looked at his shoe. It was still drying off after his previous encounter with the contortionist's toilet. He had to mentally remember to wash his shoes and let it dry under the scorching sun when he arrives in his destination.

He cursed and was about to stand up when he caught sight of Dollet station. He breathed a sigh of relief and slunk back to his seat imagining all the things awaiting him back in Dollet, the very first city he fled to after the Second Sorceress War, and his very last stop before going home, back to Balamb. The thoughts relaxed him from the pain of holding in piss, but before he could brace himself at the thought of a decent urinal he felt the train pick up a sudden supersonic speed. Straight the train went in vertiginous speeds sufficient enough to dislocate his neck, making sudden twists which caused his internal organs to ricochet off his skin and his brain to leak out his ears. At those velocities, there was a real danger of augmented body parts being launched into orbit—especially those owning fake ones, _aka_: prosthetic limbs, glued-on noses, and of course those silicon boobs.

Damn, even the train driver must hate the train so bad that he too was excited to reach the station.

The train immediately went from 1000000+kph to a sudden 0.0000kph. The shock took about seventeen seconds, just enough time for his heart to shoot out of his nose, and sucked back in. By the very second it went to a halting stop, Seifer had already melted on his seat, so was everyone else. His eyes swivelled as he felt his face rearranged and his innards osterized. When he realized he had survived the ride, he swore…it felt good. To be alive, not the ride.

He took a moment to regain his composure, then grabbed his backpack and got up. His backpack used to be quite nice, except that the last four years of travel, cats from all over the world seemed to have found a fondness of using it to sharpen their claws that it was like they were having an innate interest of using it as a scratching post…maybe it was a nail file reincarnated into a higher form of being for being such a good nail file, thus it became a _bag_. At least now, no self-respecting thief would go near it even if it was a formidable brand for a bag.

Upon stepping out of the train the atmosphere seemed to grow thicker. He thought there was a constant buzzing in his ear, and then he realized that it was absence of buzzing. _It was quiet_. After the chaos of the train ride, the silence was disconcerting.

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**o O o**

* * *

He took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and read it out loud. "Dollet Terraces 666 Carbuncle Avenue, 2nd District. Hmmm..." With nothing but a trail of empty thoughts, he began to hunt for his new apartment.

Now, the _sub-streets_ of Dollet megalopolis posed special problems for cartographers. Such streets are not organized radially or on a grid pattern, in fact "organized" is a stretch. That was part of Dollet's charm: the street that is called ABC suddenly and for no apparent reason turns into DEF, houses have "old" numbers and "new" numbers or no numbers, and number 85 is facing 1221. The logic of this is lost in the mists of quantum relativity. Yes, it's charming. Until you have to go someplace.

It took twenty-five minutes of aimless walk for his inner man to realize that he needed to ask for directions. After a stranger insulted his pride by pointing to him a street corner he had missed, and another three-minute walk he finally came face to face with the new gate of what he'll be calling home.

Dollet Terraces didn't seem to meet the expectation of what one would imagine when one hears the name. It wasn't a terrace, it was a dilapidated building rotting in the middle of the city's crime district. Although the units did not exactly look the same, they gave the impression of being identical: unpainted walls and broken windows. From the looks of it, the place needed five gay men before he could stomach to consider it as his new residence.

He cracked the door open...

The stranger he asked for directions had warned him to prepare to be boiled in disinfectant upon setting foot on the apartment. When he arrived, they must've run out of cauldrons, or else he'd become invisible. Holding his bag secured hanging loose behind his back, he walked straight pass the creaky floor of the hallway until he finally found a legible person to inquire about his dealings.

He looked at the fat guy behind the counter seemingly busy watching the ceiling drip of gooey thingies. His brows were so think that one could mistake parts of it as eyebrow extensions, but perhaps that made a good compensation for his seemingly lack of hair on the head. It was the opposite for this guy's case, his hair filled his face instead of his scalp. He was like the bald version of a yeti.

"Where can I get a room?" Seifer finally broke the silent conversation the man was having with the ceiling.

He looked at Seifer from head to toe as if labelling him as an ugly being with that stare of his. (Like he had the right to called _beautiful_.)

"Got reservations?" he groaned making potato chip bits spill out of his mouth. Good, he didn't disappoint: he was as stupid as he looked.

"Seifer Almasy."

He gargled his words as he scanned his soda-moist notebook. "Room 304" he burped, handing him a rusted key.

Upon receiving the key, he scurried up three flights of stairs and unbolted the lock of is new haven...

Or hellhole.

Thoroughly in pandemonium and degrading to his humanity, he drew open the dusty heavy red brocade curtain in hopes to uplift his mood with the possibility of a decent view at least. What he saw made his eyes almost water. It was literally _breath-taking_. It was a gray wall.

The kitchen and bathroom shelves were stacked with tissue paper. He has never seen so much tissue paper outside of a supermarket; the former occupant must have used up at least three rolls a day to be supplied by massive stocks of toiletries. Whatever space was left was taken up by huge bags of potato chips in flavors he did not know existed. And at the sight of so many varieties of junk food, his stomach turned over and he had a bizarre yearning for steamed veggies.

AND he was staying in the only house in Dollet that did not have a telephone. Or utensils. Or a microwave oven with which to defrost what was ever inside the humongous refrigerator standing on one corner. Or sofa. Or a bed. NO BED!

He looked at the floor...well sleeping there was out of the question, not beside the mildews and stains mutating before his very eyes. He walked on over to the table and ran his finger to feel its surface: it definitely beats the grungy floor. With one quick jump he lifted himself up the table and sat on its edge, it was almost comfortable, but before it got too cosy he heard a crack.

_Crack! _

And before he knew it, one leg flew out of place and down he slid to the very ground he detested knocking his head on the now three-legged table. For a moment, he stared blankly in space digesting what had just transpired, and when all was _calmly_ thought of, he stumbled back up and punched the table as hard as he could. It sounded like the table was hurt more than his fist, but of course that wasn't the case. Falling on the floor was the last straw, it was final: he hated, reviled, and loathed the apartment!

Within an hour of his arrival in Dollet, he was having homicidal fantasies.

Seifer was so fervent about murder that he already smelt the scent of blood. It was his knuckle.

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

After two minutes of stuffing his bag, a two-hour walk to the outskirt of Winhill, five hours of bumpy car-wrack ride to Timber, fifteen-minute wait for the train, three minutes of secretly squeezing himself through the aisle without getting caught, two-hour train ride to Dollet, thirty minutes search for his apartment, five minutes of awful contemplation of his new abode, and a shocking realization of needing an antiseptic for his self-caused wound, because Hyne knows what bacteria he got from making an open flesh contact with the muck on that table, he commenced his invasion of Dollet.

He strode out of his room and asked the yeti for directions.

"Where's the pharmacy?"

"Block 19, 6th Street of Brothers Boulevard."

"Where the hell is that!"

"There." No particular direction was cited.

He wanted to strangle him, but he needed to save the man's gene pool for the next generation of bellboys. So he lurched out of the apartment ready to murder the next guy he'd encounter. In his case, the first unfortunate soul he spotted was a little girl. He stared at the kid and asked her if she knew where the pharmacy was.

She nodded curtly and sprinted away.

First day at Dollet and he's hating it already. That was a fucked-up day, and it was enough for him to curse his whole existence from birth to his upcoming death, and even up to his reincarnation. It was Dollet's way of saying that he wasn't welcome, and perhaps he should leave early the next day.

What more could go wrong?

He caught sight of the pharmacy, flew to it, opened the door, and heard his name.

"Seifer..." A voice he could _never_ forget.

A reason for Dollet to feel less like hell, and a reason he had to stay.

"Quis…"

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Sneak Preview:

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Purgatory is Rehab

Chapter 2

Without warning, the door swung open along with a statement that was just as rude as barging in without knocking, "Hey Quis, I feel kinda fat today so can I borrow some of your clothes?"

She didn't even bother to look at the person she was talking to, she simply went on with applying her a nice orange gloss on her lips. "Very funny, but may I remind you that my clothes will make you look like a walking hanger. You do realize my shirt will look like a gown on you." She stared at the reflection of a petite girl with short russet hair, and a nice chinky set of dark brown irises staring back at her on the mirror with a rather mordant expression.

"Ha-ha! And you say you weren't pregnant, talk about morning mood swings."

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A/N: Hope that you found that funny. And did I mention I adore reading reviews?

P.S.

And BTW, please do use the Story Alert if you want to tune in, because unlike my other fic, this one is nowhere near done, so I don't know when my next update will be because Chapter 2 is still one heck of a mess. I simply uploaded this chapter to help me pick up the phase because now I actually feel obligated to finish this fic. Hahahahahahaha...and yet somehow I don't find that funny. Grrr...

_Disclaimer: If I say that Final Fantasy VIII is mine, would you believe me? Well...you're right. :) _

_Another Disclaimer: God knows how many lines I've gotten from Jessica Zafra…but she doesn't know. Anyway, I think there are so many of them that I will just make this a general disclaimer…her bitter rantings and witty remarks on her Twisted Series remains to be hers…I just happen to draw words and ideas on some for the betterment of this fic._


	2. Purgatory is Rehab

A/N: This very elaborate description of narrating the story is a temporary thing...just bear with it for this chapter.

* * *

**Purgatory is Rehab**

Chapter 2

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Quistis woke up with a throbbing headache. Apparently, her brain was getting cramps from last night's drinks. The pain was beating her skull like a jackhammer that it rendered her immobile for a good long time. Her eyes shut and her body was just about ready to go back into hibernation when all of a sudden her clock began into a beeping frenzy, making that most irritating sound in the morning, the kind of sound that says: it's time to get up for work. _AAAaaaaRGH!_ That was the irony of having a hangover on a weekday, no law has made it into a rational excuse for nonattendance at work. All she could do was delay another thirty minutes before blasting herself with a nice hot shower.

Water fell like drops of acid rain upon the first contact, but as the steam rose and her wretched body adjusted to the heat, it was bliss.

The shower had certainly made her mind focus and her body geared up for work. She walked out the bathroom and stared at her full-length mirror, twisting her body from side to side, watching if her new diet was showing any results around her waist. She held her belly and felt that same bump which began forming three months ago. Apparently, not so much could be said about her diet, except that it has proven itself ineffective. Another _AAAaaaaRGH!_ for that. The only thing she could do was cover up that mess with black polyester. Making her fashion choice for today's work, she buttoned down her blouse then immediately began her makeup ritual when she saw the clock's minute hand had struck six.

She quietly meditated on her face as she applied a soft foundation to clog and even down her pores. Applying makeup was something she had just recently began taking seriously. It started when she received enlightenment from a facial guru about the importance of proper handling of ones most noticeable asset, the face. But that's another story. That was the thing with Quistis, she seldom used makeup, but when she did, it would be something that she'd take the time to polish until her face met with her own standard of beauty, perfection. Her brows had been flawlessly lined, her eyes beautifully shadowed, her cheeks brilliantly blushed, and now, only the lips was to be painted rose orange before she attains ethereal beauty. She was inches close to achieving the goddess state when...

_PUKE! _

She made her head hang loose on the sink, spewing out what could only be described as undigested food. Not only was she dealing with a hangover, but morning sickness as well...one that smelled like rubbing alcohol.

She was still bonding with her bathroom sink when the door swung open along with a statement that was just as rude as barging in without knocking, "Hey Quis, I feel kinda fat today so can I borrow some of your clothes?"

She didn't even bother to look at the person she was talking to, she simply went on with hugging the hollow enamelled ceramic. "Very funny, but may I remind you that my clothes will make you look like a walking hanger. You do realize my shirt will look like a gown on you." She stared at the reflection of a petite girl with short russet hair, and a nice chinky set of dark brown irises looking back at her on the mirror with a rather mordant expression.

"Ha-HA! And you say you weren't pregnant, talk about mood swings and morning sickness."

"Hey you started it. And besides, my dearest Jessica, this tiny bulge in no more than a temporary baby fat."

"Baby fats my ass! Man I've never seen you gain so much weight! Has it been your 10th pound gained this week?"

"I'm not even gonna answer that," she said, irate and frowning.

"Hey, you know I'm only kidding. What's up? You seem real upset today."

"I don't know...I guess I was expecting him to come. He said he'd already be here for my birthday."

"Oh yeah, the very man who's been making you eat depression, or was it depression eating—oh whatever! Just cheer up okay? He's probably stuck in some asteroid. So what if he's been three weeks late? It's not very easy to hitch ride from outer space ya know!"

"I suppose...but the wait is really putting on weight." She kidded with a rhyme.

"See, now that wasn't so bad was it? The world is a better place with your corny jokes around. Now let's go out and celebrate your remaining 364 days of being twenty-six."

"No thank you, I really can't afford another surprise party. Seriously, I spent my month's pay check for last night's celebration."

"Don't be silly! There's no party," she snickered, then handed her a piece of paper along with a bundle of tip. "You're gonna be celebrating today under the freezing autumn street doing boss's errand!"

"Why don't you do it yourself? I'm sure he asked you and not me." Quistis complained, pushing back the money away from her face.

"Oh c'mon! I've got my hands full. He's making me build a fucking contraption that will make him fly to outer space today! I'm sure that tip will compensate for the cold." She pleaded, adding another roll of cash in the bundle.

"Where do you get all this cash! You know, for a nanny, you're certainly better off than most of the world's population." Quistis couldn't help but comment as she shoved the cash in her pocket. She was getting a 4000 Gil tip from a nanny! Jessica was giving her a tip only millionaires could afford to give.

"Oh, you know exactly where I get it!" she retorted, then quickly clung on her friend's shoulder as they made their way out of her bedroom. "Now c'mon, because I've got the hottest new gossip to tell..."

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**o O o**

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* * *

**

They were walking down the hallway towards the exit when she noticed the man sitting at the lobby. He looked oddly familiar, but she could not place him immediately. Her memory banks were pretty efficient when it came to faces; she could clearly recall every student that passed by her class, and they didn't have to be her student to be remembered, just pass by her classroom. The man sitting rang no bells: he was rather masculine, self-assured, and beautifully blonde.

Somewhere between the probable mistake and possibility, she did not flinch, just waited and stared.

She resumed the conversation with her friend, but part of her brain was already running a search on the man's identity. It distressed her not to remember things instantly—she began to worry about Alzheimer's disease. Without thinking, she kept turning to the direction of the unidentified man. Her behaviour bordered on rudeness; it was with some effort that she restrained herself from staring.

Halfway through the hallway the scent of fresh roses must have kicked some dormant nerve into action, because she suddenly remembered who it was. The man was the _'mysterious blonde guy'_, upon whom she was madly fixated a few years ago. The term was derived from the fact that she knew the silhouette of his façade, yet she could never make out his face, just his broad figure and blonde locks beneath the blur memory. There was a time she that was so deranged that she could not think of him without bringing up the concept of destiny two seconds later.

Her obsession was such that she began to see the blonde-haired person's face everywhere—in shops, cafes, street corners—and as she approached him with her brain on fire she would realize that it wasn't him at all. The person would bear no resemblance to him whatsoever. It was as if she had projected her desire onto the nearest blank space.

Amazing how one minute she was ready to vivisect herself for what she presumed to be love, and not long afterwards, she could not remember why. Not long ago she would've carved his name on her arm with a dull bread knife; now she didn't even recall his name.

She walked pass the man, who had no idea what had just transpired.

"You okay?"

"Uhhh...yeah."

"You were totally spacing out in the middle of our conversation!"

"Sorry, I just thought I knew him." She explained pointing with her thumb at the person that they just walked past without looking back.

Jessica on the other hand was forced to stare at the man she never noticed sitting when they passed by. The man was a stout man probably in his thirties. "Oh, him?" she shrugged, "His name is Stranger, for acting stranger than you—who the heck comes in this hotel wearing shorts in the dead of a chilly autumn morning!"

Quistis giggled, "That guy, apparently."

"Let's not talk about him, okay? Anyway, got the errand from boss?"

"It's here." Her smile was followed by a quick sigh.

"Hey, cheer up." She comforted, holding Quistis' chin and forcibly stretching her lips with her thumb, reshaping her lips into an odd-looking smile. "You should be happy you're now 26, in fact, let me ask you, how does it feel being twenty-six?"

"Honestly...just like being twenty-five." She smirked, and just as she was about to extend the conversation, she heard impatient screams.

"Good for you—now get going or he'll kill me!" Jessica's face became pale with panic that she didn't realize that violently pushing Quistis out the door could hurt.

"This is gonna cost you!" She churlishly warned before the door swept shut on her face.

She shook her head at what just happened, and began with what she was tasked to do: buy balloons. She began walking down the frozen steps. Although the snow was yet to fall, the freezing temperature was enough to convince anyone that it was the dead of winter in the middle of autumn. It was really cold, and there was barely a soul out that day. The neighbourhood was so quiet, she could hear the blood sloshing in her veins. She quietly made her way along the street, tucking her hands inside her pocket, she stopped in her track to properly dispose a piece of water bottle rolling on the alley. It was one of those few times she saw litter on the perfectly clean street, and naturally her obsessive compulsiveness acted up for it was a shame to let a supposed empty street be left with a piece of un-disposed garbage. Admittedly, Dollet was a victim of its own boot camp reputation. People weren't ordered to stand straight or keep their mouths shut, they did it in their own free will. Nobody told them to behave themselves. They were never reprimanded. The rules weren't spelled out: they simply assumed that everything was forbidden. That was a paradox, but it worked.

Five party shops and two speciality shops later, not one damn balloon. Now where the hell has all the freakin' balloons gone to! Another step, and that's when she remembered Jessica coming in to the hotel yesterday with a couple of thousand balloons for their bored boss who wanted to fly on a string of helium balloons. Well, they didn't really achieve flight yesterday, just a whole lot of inflated rubber in the lobby. That Jessica was smarter than she looked, she managed to trick Quistis into finding something she knew was already out of stock in the entire city.

Quistis sat on the bench when she found herself tired. Gaining all those excess weight from the last couple of months was really taking a toll on her. She used to sweat out all her anger and frustration back at Balamb, but now that she was in Dollet with the greatest chef known to man running her hotel's restaurant, easing the pain with food was her new alternative to dealing with emotional setbacks. At first, it didn't seem like a bad idea, but it turned out to be terrible one when she began tipping the scale. _ROOOOAR_! Not good. She stood up and briskly walked around to find the next supply shop she could ask. She was making sure that this errand also turns into a good exercise that could lose her a few extra calories.

The more she made her way through the smaller alleys, the more she saw people walking along with her fast phased strides. However, it was the cold and the resulting mass consumption of cafe latte that probably explained why the natives walk so fast, not to lose disproportionate bulges. The town was alive after all.

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**o O o**

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* * *

**

After much balloon hunting, something struck her, if she wasn't getting any rubber balloons in party shops, then she was getting them in a pharmacy. It was something that any city could not possibly risk of running out of. With so many different flavors and textures, she was sure Gabe wouldn't mind if the balloon would be a little slippery upon that first touch. And should things turn for the worst, it would be Jessica who will take the beating. After all, what good is a nanny if she not the child's sacrificial lamb in case of an admonishment? That girl may be smart, but she was still smarter. Her shoulders began to shake, not from the cold, but her fits of giggle at the thought of Gabe and Jessica blowing the slippery strawberry flavoured balloons.

On her way to the nearest pharmacy, she passed by a movie theatre to check on the screenings. She was supposed to watch later that evening for her weekly movie-date with herself. It had been her routine for the past couple of months to keep herself company on her night off on Saturdays to watch a movie or two as a sort of self-indulgence after a week of hard work.

There were three new movies that came out that week, one of them she didn't really like, and two others that she hasn't heard of. The titles weren't catchy, and the posters looked like some cheap collage made by some highschool student. She was getting tired of having to watch bad movies on a Saturday night. It wasn't the price of admission, it was the two wasted hours of her life. Perhaps it was best if she skipped this week's movie and treat herself to a nice dinner instead. Exactly the kind of attitude she needed for losing weight.

She was about to walk away when she caught something interesting out on the corner of her eye. She turned and found herself staring at the poster of star-crossed lovers, a SeeD and her Sorceress Knight lover locked in embrace as the backdrop behind them fade into nothingness, like time being compressed. She held out her hand and touched the cold-flat paper, absorbed in that moment of silence. She looked at the leading man, a handsome valiant knight holding his woman with his golden hair flowing with the wind. Her mind began drifting to the man whom she called the _mysterious blonde guy_, a man she had known at one time in her life and refused to be a forgotten memory. It was with some effort that she slapped her head back to the reality of the cold cobble street she was standing in before she realized that the man on the poster wasn't blonde at all.

Quistis abandoned the site upon that instance, but her mind was still transfixed onto the subject at hand. She had thought she had seen him on the poster, but again, that wasn't him. It's been years since this mysterious blonde haunted her, and all these years she was yet to remember his name, his face, his voice. Any day now, she might finally come face to face with the man, and then it hit her: What would she actually say him if she found him?

"_I think you're my destiny."_ Yucch. _"I think I know you."_ Ugh. _"Have you been stalking me?"_ Aaargh. _"Can we talk?"_ Dammit...just hold the thought and forget it.

She turned around the street corner and at last reached her destination. She took her hand out her pocket and blew warm air onto her palm before opening the frozen aluminium door. Making the wind chime hanging by the door reverberate clings of steel upon her entry, but she noticed no one seemed to care that she was a paying costumer. It figured, there were only two people in the pharmacy, one redhead pharmacist, and another blonde costumer. He was scanning the shelves when she saw him, a particular blonde with piercing green irises and a long dark scar running across the bridge of his nose.

"Seifer..." It was the first time she had called out that man's name in ages, but it sounded like she had been calling his name too many times, several years ago. There was something different about seeing Seifer's face after so long, and it wasn't because she missed him, it was more of that his name, his face, his voice..._him_...he was fitting a certain blank space in the puzzle. She could not muster the reality, and clearly doubted the possibility of being that one missing piece to fit that empty space in all of her unanswered questions. Somehow, for that brief instance, in that prelude to seeing his face, she felt something..._something_.

Unknowingly, she has finally met face to face with the man who had unwittingly inspired her destruction.

"Quis..." he muttered with an impression of a half-smile.

That was the truly hateful part—that he should be unaware of the damage he had wrought.

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Sneak Preview:

* * *

Rendezvous

Chapter 3

"You know, the night we went out on your 21st birthday."

She was rendered speechless at that point. What the hell happened on her 21st birthday? And what did Seifer have anything to do with it? And why was he giving her a look that says _something_ happened that night? Something...OMG! Her mind blacked out and she didn't know why she was so frantic about what he just said. She stared into space with a shutdown brain activity.

"Hey, you okay?" Seifer clicked his finger in front of her eyes that seemed to be looking at an abyss.

The sound snapped her to reality, and that's when she realized that she just recovered from a state of being in shock. There was something about today that was making her feel all paranoid...probably it was the cold. "Sorry, but you were saying that we spent my 21st birthday together?"

"Yeah...don't you remember?" it was a hurt voice that came out without him knowing.

"I'm sorry, but nothing's coming to mind. Maybe you could freshen my memory? I'm still under the process of recovering from an alcohol overdose." She explained, wondering why he was so affected by that statement.

That came in as a shock. Five years may have taken a toll on their relationship, but that was not the answer he was expecting. How the hell could have she forgotten about losing her virginity to him on the night of her twenty-first birthday! Was she playing him? Was she trying to deny that ever happened? Was she just saying those things to hurt him? WAS SHE NUTS! No one gets laid for the first time in their life and forgets—_especially when Seifer Almasy does the job_! AAARRRGHH! Time to put on his most servile, obsequious Seifer voice and get himself an explanation.

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A/N: Don't worry, next chapter will be less descriptive and fun...heehee...review please!


	3. Rendezvous

A/N: I know...it's been a while since my last update, but swear, I am working on this fic...whenever I feel like it. BUT! I am determined not to screw this one up and I will be finishing this fic...eventually.

* * *

**Rendezvous**

Chapter 3

* * *

"Condoms?"

"Apparently this city has run out of balloons."

Well...that was definitely an odd first encounter, never in a million centuries would he have guessed that '_condoms_' would be the first word he'd utter to Quistis after five years of separation. He gave a weird face, at her and at the situation, one that made it obvious he wasn't getting the joke.

"It's for my boss's son...he wants to blow up balloons, but I couldn't find any, so I figured condoms would be an okay alternative," she chuckled, apparently unaware of the struggle for sanity of the man before her.

"And I suppose he likes strawberry?" He was amazed at his own ability to fool around when his heart was palpitating like crazy and his hand had been freezing icicles of profuse sweat. The sleeping part of Seifer was shocking him into wakefulness. Or maybe that was the effect of finally seeing Quistis after too much longing, was to transpose his waking life and his subconscious, so that he actually lived inside his dream. No, it wasn't a hallucination, but a waking dream. She was there, in front of him! But he still didn't believe it.

She looked at the pink box, still innocent of the situation. "Yes," she admitted with shrugged shoulders. She didn't know that the man she was talking to was in the process if getting a fatal heart attack.

Sensing that she didn't seem too bothered at the supposed complexities of their first encounter, he held his grip and gradually calmed down. "As long as your boss is fine with his son blowing up condoms, then you're good." He smiled and reached for her hand. "How are you?" he asked, this time in a voice that felt like he was asking more than just the question.

She pulled back along with a step closer to the exit. "I'm fine, Seifer," she answered, looking straight at his irises, wondering if she was suppose to say anything more.

"That's good," he mumbled, avoiding her stare.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I could hear Gabrielle's screams from here." Quistis tried to make a quick exit, but her strides were no match against his long legs. Even in a casual stroll with him, she could imagine the effort most people put up to keep with his pacing.

"Wait, I'm comin' with ya."

She turned back and looked at him with curious eyes, "Why?"

That question made him stare at her with eyes that seemed to have been hurt. The way he looked at her, it's as if he was trying to tell her something, communicating with her through a telepathic stare. He could only hope that she'd understand what he meant by it. But nope, she was clueless.

"I just wanna talk."

What was that about? He wanted to talk? About what exactly?..._Why?_ She couldn't exactly place that statement, so she signalled him to follow, "Then let's go."

He trailed a few steps behind her, looking at her as she walked. He couldn't believe that he had found her, _finally_.

* * *

**o O o**

**

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**

It would be a long walk back to the hotel, so he figured having small talks would be appropriate because apparently she wasn't saying anything. He cleared his throat, "Erghmm...yesterday was your birthday right?"

"...That was unexpected. How did you know?" It was something she never imagined: _Seifer Almasy, remembering her birthday!_ HA!

He scratched his nape. "Of course I never forget about your birthday, it's something I kept in mind since...you know," he said with a wink.

But she didn't know. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, the night we went out on your 21st birthday."

She was rendered speechless at that point. What the hell happened on her 21st birthday? And what did Seifer have anything to do with it? And why was he giving her a look that says _something_ happened that night? Something...OMG! Her mind blacked out and she didn't know why she was so frantic about what he just said. She stared into space and shutdown every brain activity.

"Hey, you okay?" Seifer repeatedly snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, which seemed to be looking at nowhere.

The sound brought her to reality, and that's when she realized that she had just recovered from a state of shock. There was something about today that was making her feel all paranoid...probably it was the cold, or the hangover, or just the plain thought that Seifer was all over her that very instance. "Sorry, but you were saying that we spent my 21st birthday together?"

"Yeah...don't you remember?" It was a hurt voice that came out without him knowing.

"I'm sorry, but nothing's coming to mind. Maybe you could freshen my memory? I'm still under the process of recovering from an alcohol overdose." She explained, wondering why he was so affected by that statement.

That came in as a shock. Five years may have taken a toll on their relationship, but that was not the answer he was expecting. How the hell could have she forgotten about losing her virginity to him on the night of her twenty-first birthday! Was she playing him? Was she trying to deny that ever happened? Was she just saying those things to hurt him? WAS SHE NUTS? No one gets laid for the first time in their life and forgets—_especially when Seifer Almasy does the job_! AAARRRGHH! Time to put on his most servile, obsequious Seifer voice and get himself an explanation.

"You gotta be kiddin' me. Let me refresh your memory. It was after the party when we snuck out of the Garden and ran kissing all the way to the coastline." He paused hoping to see her nod, but she was shaking her head in divergence to his expectation, so he pressed on, this time using his sexy voice, "Don't you remember that night over at the beach where I tore your sexy white dress, then made you lay naked on the sand, and slowly made you moan like crazy—"

"OKAY STOP!" she rebuked, pushing him away as hard as she could. That was the most uncomfortable thing she had heard, and to actually hear it from Seifer, that was BY FAR the most unsettling bit of information to ever make contact with her nerves that she had to hold herself from shattering to pieces in the middle of the street.

"FINE! But tell me if that wasn't the best orgasm you ever experienced!" He said, insisting on the fact the he was the best thing that ever happened to her.

"Shut up!" she yelled, grabbing him by the collar and hissing at him a most venomous threat. "I don't know what the HELL you're yapping about, but you better STOP if you know what's good for you because it is NOT funny."

With only an inch of distance between their faces, he could see the anger boiling up in her eyes. She wasn't kidding. Another minute of intense staring contest passed. He took that minute as an opportunity to figure out what was wrong in the picture, and when he finally saw that she was most likely clueless to his cause, he conceded, "Alright, but only if you take me with you."

"NO! I have work Seifer, and don't want you there distracting me."

"Say all you want, but I'm comin' along." He casually insisted, following her by a single step behind. No matter where she went or how fast she was going, and even if she kept on nagging him away, he managed to keep up, all the way to the hotel.

She had walked through tight alleys, circled around the perimeter of the city, making sudden twists and turns at almost every corner, hoping to lose him on the way, but it was too late, she eventually reached the town square without budging her stalker away from his one-step distance zone. Sighing at herself in utter failure, she looked at the dark hand carved ebony door and thought: there was something about Hotel Dollet that made it so successful. Maybe it's because if some lost tourist would pick a street at random and keep walking, he'd end up at the town square or the coffee shop nearby, finally deciding he needed a place to stay, he looks up and lo and behold! There it is, the Dollet Hotel has come to save the day. _Errrr_...that fact wasn't very useful in her case.

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**o O o**

**

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**

"Hey, you made a new friend. What's her name?" asked the old man in a friendly tone. Although he looked strict with his suit and formal composure, by his tone, he didn't seem like a stuck-up grunt. A laugh line cut his cheeks, an evident possibility that he might have even be a jolly fellow in his youth, but it was a possibility no one dares to prove as his moustache and dark piercing eyes made him look like a man to be reckoned with.

"Fathew, I'd like to intwoduce to yuu Ariel, but I call her The Wittle Mewmaid. Can I keep her?"

"That's very cute, but we can't keep Ariel."

"But I found her on the stweet!"

"I'm afraid her parents own her, and if we do keep her...that would be called: kidnapping."

He started crying hysterically, and ran for the elevator, leaving Ariel with his dad.

"I wanna go home!" she moped the moment Duke smiled at her. She found a wrinkled man's smiling face terrifying. So she ran out the door.

_Errrr_...

He could only stare as the door slammed shut, scratching his head to induce blood flow in his brain for a better understanding of what had just happened. When he realized that he was left standing on the lobby with his nails on his scalp, he sighed then quickly picked up consciousness at the sight of his assistant hand in hand with a familiar looking stranger. He raised his fragile hand to honour their presence.

"Sir, may I introduce Seifer Almasy. He was a former student at Balamb Garden. I met him at the pharmacy and he's been trailing me ever since," was Quistis brief introduction of the man who was holding her hand when her boss saw her.

"Of course, welcome to my hotel Mr. Almasy." He gave him a recognizing look, but he said nothing more besides extending a hand.

"Uhhh, thanks," he said, shaking the man's hand. He knew that stare meant something, but he didn't bother to know.

After that brief getting-to-know-you, Duke turned to Quistis, "I understand you have a guest, but I need you to take out the flowers in my office and dispose them, because it's starting to make my room smell like a funeral parlour." He calmly requested with a smile.

"Yes sir, excuse me," she replied, making her way into his office right across the hall. Of course, Seifer trailed behind like a puppy.

"What about the condoms?"

"Shut up!"

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**o O o**

* * *

"I will invoke destiny as I frequently do, and claim that I was fated to come here."

"And why is that?" she raised a brow, wondering why his statement sounded more flattering than sardonic.

"Because I did not come to live for another five years, leave Winhill to punch a table at Dollet just so I can go to a pharmacy and bump into you."

"Were those all that signs you needed?" By the time he was done with his rationale, she had found the vase his boss was referring to. Indeed, it reeked of dead flora, and not like the potpourri kind either...it was more of decomposing leaves.

"Yes, because I'm here with you, in this state of present, in this lifetime." He had always been a smooth talker if he wasn't in the mood to insult, and he always snagged his prize almost always when he did bother to be a romantic.

"I know we've got a lot of history between us, and that five years should have changed you a lot, but acting like something is suppose to be between us is something I don't find us having anytime soon." It wasn't a sarcastic statement, it was honestly blunt and bordering on anger. She couldn't really bother to look at him, she chose to be rather busy with carefully picking out the flowers to be thrown out than to pay attention to Seifer's wooing. She cautiously removed the roses with jutting thorns out of the vase and onto a pile of paper towels, making sure she did not wet Mr. Dollet's desk in the process.

She heard him say something like, "We'll see," and then felt his hand sliding down her waist. Immediately she tried to fight back, but he caught her off guard that he was able to corner her defenceless. She began to panic and toppled back onto the closest table with her eyes facing him with a combination of resentment and fear. And when he leaned himself closer in attempts to harass her with a kiss, she flinched back, and before they could even notice, they heard a shattering sound of some glass porcelain...and the sound of her cheque being withheld.

It could've been any expensive jar, but no, it had to be a priceless antique urn—and the worst part? It contained the ashes of Mr. Dollet's late wife. They had to pick their jaws off the floor. Quistis was holding back desperate sobs as they gawked at the glittering pieces of gold embedded porcelain mixed up with a trolley-full of dusty grey human remains.

He could've comforted her or say anything decent for that matter, but he just had to comment, "That's an awful lot of ash for a human, don't ya think?"

"SEIFER YOU BASTARD!" She punched him as hard as she could, channelling all of the world's anger into that one sucker punch, and she knew he was hurt, but his miraculous shriek did nothing to turn back time or help glue together the broken shards of urn. She found herself shaking at turn of events that she had to lean herself onto a nearby table.

With Quistis out cold, and the comprehension that leaving her would be a bad idea, he got on his knees and began picking up the jagged pieces of porcelain. Only when he saw the horrid state of his fist did he realize that a small shard with the size of a pea had managed to puncture into his already open wound. It wasn't as painful as being punched by a deranged former SeeD, but it was bleeding in such a way that he couldn't ignore. However, before he could even bother to think about wrapping it with his handkerchief old Dollet came in the office with apparent suspicion after hearing a thundering crash. He knew something huge fell, and nothing was more huge than his late wife.

"M-m-my Gabrielle!" he stuttered upon seeing his wife's ashes all over his marbled floor. He could only give wide-eyed alternate stares at Seifer, Quistis, and the ash-laden floor. He clasped his heart as he felt his chest compress and aorta clogged.

"S-sir, I can explain," Quistis too was stuttering for words of justification, but she didn't know how to begin.

"She toppled on the vase, so it's her fault," Seifer uttered in accuse when he saw her gobsmacked.

"How DARE you!" she yelled pushing him to the wall. "You were harassing me!"

"Why the hell would you call that harass when you were all over me?" he snickered, stroking her chin.

She slapped off his hand, and then slapped off his face. "Liar!" she snarled, grabbing him by the collar.

Mr. Dollet roaring, "ENOUGH!" made them stop and look at him for a minute. "Call the janitor to clean up this mess, and get the hell out of my office and settle your argument somewhere else," he said in a tone that made his authority known to them. "We'll discuss about your punishment in the morning, and that means you too, Mr. Almasy." He pointed a sharp finger at Seifer, warning him with his stare should he try to make other plans. "Now, leave me."

"Yes, sir...I'm very sorry," she apologized with a bow as she made her way to the exit, dragging Seifer with her by his injured hand.

Seifer could see the disappointment and frustration in the old man's eyes, and human nature caught up with him. "Sorry..." he muttered, before closing the door behind him.

"You are the biggest jerk, do you know that?" she barked, clasping him harder by the knuckles to match her insult with physical pain. "You have no idea how much I want to rip you apart right now!"

"Alright, alright, that was my bad." Admitting his mistake was the first step to freeing himself from the misery of being squeezed by the wound. He felt her grip loosen at his word, so he went on with his pretty little words. "I just can't help it, whenever I'm around you I can't think right. I know I made a stupid move, but just hear me out." She paused, and turned around to look at him. He smirked, "Listen, I'm not gonna bail out on ya. I know we got ourselves into one hell of a shit, but I'm not gonna leave you alone in this mess, I swear on my new ring," he said, showing her the shiny silver ring engraved with the fire cross on his finger. "If I gotta go get three jobs to help ya pay up, then I will. So don't fret, we're in on this together."

"Fine, I'll take your word, but if you mess up, that ring is mine—and I'll make sure I'll get it along with your finger attached!" she warned with a not-so-sarcastic stare. "That wound looks really bad, you might get an infection, even worse...you need to get an anti-tetanus shot." Her worry began to surface when she saw Seifer's wound began bleeding again after she released his hand and felt the sticky bloodstain on her palm.

There's a horror to the term '_shot_' because it meant being poked by a long-sharp-hollow needle that is to be injected in the arteries with some fluid while being conscious the whole process. And if some stupid nurse fails to hit the right nerve, the process repeats until you realize that the illness is better than the cure.

"Uhhh...yeah...no, I don't need a shot, I need a band aid." His voice tightened right around the word _yeah_.

"No, you need a disinfectant. I'm sure a strong man like you could handle a small sting."

"I said, what I need is a band aid." Although she made an effort to downgrade the treatment into a less ferocious-sounding term, he still wouldn't buy it. He knew Quistis all too well, and her initial response to a refusal would always be sycophancy to lure in the victim. That would be him.

"What you need is to shut up and get to the infirmary." Reproach was her next preference, should obsequiousness prove ineffective.

"Argh! Forget it, I'm leaving," he barked, feigning resentment at her scheme.

She then realized that it was Seifer she was talking to, therefore persistence was not a viable resolution. "Fine...a band aid."

"Yes, a band aid." He smirked, victorious.

She gave out an irate sigh, "Then follow me," and then headed for the elevator.

"I'm NOT going to infirmary."

"We're not heading there." She raised a brow, seemingly sneering at his cowardice.

* * *

**o O o**

**

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**

She had him seated on her sienna-colored couch overlooking the window of her balcony the moment they stepped in her room. "Wait here while I go get my first aid kit—and try not to touch anything while I'm gone," she warned before striding to the bathroom.

"Don't worry, I'll behave because I'm a good boy," he said in a childish tone.

"Very funny," she snorted as she washed her bloodstained hands. "I know you always speak a lot of nonsense, but you just got yourself promoted to a whole new level today." She had to clear her throat before proceeding with the question, "What was all that flirting about?"

He laughed at how she sounded so confusedly embarrassed with her statement. "Do you seriously want me to answer that? C'mon Quis, we're no longer teenagers trying to figure out the theory behind hormonal changes and denying everything that you find complicated. You know exactly what I'm up to."

She emerged from the bathroom door with a stern face. She held a sharp pair of scissors in case he might come rushing at her. "Then what you're up to is something stupid—and impossible!"

"C'mon, it happened before, why can't it happen again?" he teased by winking at her, but did nothing else stupid that might make her stab him.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she retorted.

He sighed, "I have no idea why you're so defensive about it...fine, maybe you don't wanna talk about it, but c'mon, don't act so numbly cause it's freaking me out!"

"You're freaking out? Then how am I supposed to react to whatever the hell it is you're trying to prove?"

At that, he gave up and cut to the chase, "Just tell me, are we okay?"

She watched him for a whole minute, figuring out what he meant by it. In the end, she nodded...and if interpretation was right, it meant that they were okay as being friends. But when he smirked, she added words to clear out what she meant by that nod. "Yes, we're friends."

He smiled, "I'm glad we are."

"As long as we have that clear," she smiled before turning back to the business at hand. "Now hold still, this will sting a bit," she said before pouring a foul brown substance on his fist.

It's supposed to have hurt, but he could care less about the pain because he was exhilarated with knowing they were still friends. With that important bit of doubt answered to his advantage, he was able to look directly up at her as she tended on his wound. Only when she leaned in to cast his hand did he really see how much had changed, her. Five years has certainly carved her youth into a truly beautiful woman. Her then plump-rounded face has managed to shape itself into a slight oval, emphasizing further her features, which too may or may not have changed through the years. The soft foundation she had applied evened out her face, but not so to hide her rose-red cheeks, which had always come naturally red as her lips. Quistis tuck a stray of blonde hair behind her ear, no longer that long usual hair he had acquainted her with; she's gone short, the shortest he had ever seen reaching just above her shoulders, in fact they had almost the same length of hair. And of course, the same set of sapphires he had always seen looking at him with such wonder, if not aggravation, and at one time, with so much love; but this time it was a combination of surprise and curiosity, no longer the affectionate stare he had once greatly adored.

"I'll just throw this out, then we can leave," she said, excusing herself the moment she was done dressing his wound.

He muttered _thanks_, then watched her walk to the bathroom. That gave him time to survey her room. Unlike in Balamb, her room was twice as large, it was like typical hotel room, but with a Dollet touch. On its centre was one double-sized bed, a nice leather couch beside the balcony windows draped in burgundy curtains, a simple writing area, shelves, a closet, a bathroom and a skylight, to mention a few of Dollet hotel's unique feature that sets them apart from other hotels in the city. The place was certainly beautiful compared to his rundown apartment, and it was nice to know that she was living in a fairly comfortable space. His eyes continued to examine the intricacies of the wood panels at one corner, eventually leading his sight to her bedside table. On it were two things, the typical bedside lamp and picture frame. He could care less about the pretty glass-stained lamp, what transfixed him to the spot was the photo contained within the plaster frame.

The picture was a portrait of man standing beside Quistis somewhere in Esthar. He looked at the picture and the first thing he noticed was that the man had man-boobs...but as his eyes lingered on, he admittedly realized that the man didn't look half-bad. Besides the excess baggage on his chest, he looked respectable enough to be beside his ex-lover. The man had copper hair with very dark russets streaking down his clean cut mane. He was lean in comparison to other men his age, an evident reason why he was so pale. But what caught Seifer's eyes was the striking resemblance of their irises, a deep set of sharp emeralds could clearly be seen behind the man's glasses. At that point, all he wanted to do was get out of the room and leave. He had enough, and it was sickening him to the core.

When she got out of the bathroom a few seconds later, he was already standing at the doorway holding the knob. He opened the door the moment he saw her.

"Can we go now?"

"S-sure..."

They quietly made their way out of the hotel. They've been together the whole day, and it was the first time he was leaving her with dead air. In the duration of walking from her room to the main entrance, she couldn't help but wonder why he suddenly became glum. She had no idea. She was the lucky one. At the corner of her eye, she could see that there was something bothering him, it was obvious in his expression.

Emerging at Dollet Hotel at midnight, the memory of Winhill's summer still clinging to his skin like a damp wool blanket, he felt the subzero air rushing into his lungs like tiny spikes. It was so cold, tiny blood vessels in his nostrils broke, and he had to pick the bloodstained boogers out of his nose.

"Will you be alright?" she asked, although she knew he wasn't.

"Yeah..." he muttered to the ground trying to say goodbye, but he couldn't take the throbbing question no longer that he had to know, "Tell me, why him?"

"I don't get it..."

"The man in photo, why were you so happy being with him?"

There was something about the question that made her brace herself. Why was he minding every freaking business she had? And why in the world was he so insistent in proving to her that he cared? She looked at his face to figure out a sense of reason behind his actions, but all she could figure was that he wanted an answer. "His name is Xaldin. He is a lunar physicist over at Lunatic Pandora—"

"I'm not asking who the hell he is, I just wanna know, why?" he interrupted, making her gasp at his word.

"Why do you want to know so much?" She fixed him with her flesh-melting look.

But he didn't give her the reaction she wanted, instead he asked again, "Why?" and on the fourth time he pressed her on the wall, giving her a miserably intent look, one that made her talk.

"He...says things that make me listen. He makes me believe that I'm worth something...and I always find myself staring into his...green...eyes..." And in that last statement, she looked directly into his eyes and found herself staring into _his_ green eyes.

That was when she finally understood, that he wasn't delusional, that it was . . . _him_.

* * *

Sneak Preview:

* * *

The Angelic Imp

Chapter 4

"The love potion didn't work fer ya, eh babe?"

She looked at the ground. _Er_..."We never drank the potion."

"But you DID fall in love!"

"Fell...it's over now."

"Is it?"

"Yes, and it's never gonna happen again," she said in a low-cracking voice.

"Tell me...why?"

_Silence_. She didn't answer.

The old woman held her hand and asked again, "Why?"

Quistis didn't answer still.

"TELL ME WHY YOU BITCH!"

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A/N: Review please! I need a kick for this fic...OH! And btw, I made a fanart for Chapter 10 of this fic. It's in my deviantart account, you can access the link in my Profile page.


	4. The Angelic Imp

**The Angelic Imp**

Chapter 4

* * *

As ordered by Mr. Dollet, Seifer did return to the hotel though not necessarily to bid his dues, rather, to see _her_ again. He entered the doorway and immediately saw what he came for. Quistis was looking to his direction when he got in, but it seemed as though she was seeing right through him, not making any recognizing gesture that might acknowledge his presence. He did not understand why she didn't see him. He had been in her dream too much that she didn't know, he wasn't a dream.

"Hey..." he held her wrist to tell her he was very real.

Her reverie broke, and she saw him looking at her with those beautiful wild eyes of his. This time she knew he was as real as he could get. "I'm sorry...I was just on my way to get some coffee. I'm presently half-awake, so I thought you were a dream."

"So you do fantasize about me." He kidded trailing her all the way to the café.

"You flatter yourself way too much. Now come on, Mr. Dollet is waiting in the coffee bar."

They entered the café and was immediately greeted by the old man he recognized as Quistis' boss. He could see serious looking documents tucked under the man's wrinkled hand. Although he didn't looked angry, he didn't look happy at all either. Seifer could only greet him in an unusually unflappable hushed, respectful tone—the very same low frequency voice he used when speaking to his matron. Quistis had to pinch herself from laughing at how gay it sounded.

"I'm sure you both know by now the dire offense you have brought upon me and my darling Gabrielle. Hyne bless her soul." Duke gruffly muttered to break the icy silence. He took a white kerchief and sneezed, as to stray the two when he realized he couldn't produce tears at the mention of his late wife's name.

"Bless you..." Quistis whispered in awkward fashion, while Seifer chose to look up the ceiling and swallow his giggle. Both knew the intention.

"Thank you," he said, taking in a breath of air. He cleared his throat and dived in to the subject of the matter at hand, "Truth be told, I couldn't sleep last night thinking about what had happened. And I'm not simply talking about the soul of my late wife haunting me, but also of the punishment that must strictly be enforced not simply by mere moral ethics, but also as protocol to the law that this institution lives by." The statement sounded overly implied, but they knew all too well that his words were no way less serious that how it sounded. "I did a little math last night, and as it turns out your debt will be paid in approximately 137 years, four months and three days."

Although it sounded more exact than an approximation, he had a quick seizure before reacting. "Are you fucking me? How the hell did that thing worth THAT much?" Seifer's composure turned to anger as financial issues never fails to tamper with his nerves. Quistis had to hold him down to avoid another possible mishap, breaking a man's neck worth billions in particular.

"Considering that I'm not charging you the emotional damages and mental stress you've given me, I think that's a fair price to pay." He stressed his compassion by showing them the summation of his equation written on his expensive leather notebook, and indeed at the bottom of the neatly stacked 8-digit numbers, just above the grandest total were the words: _emotional stress_ and _mental stress,_ crossed out.

"But there's just no way that damn urn could cost THIS much!" he quipped slamming his hand on the precious notebook. The word respect, quickly forgotten.

"Then allow me to educate you Mr. Almasy...that urn you broke is the one and only remaining burial jar preserved by the Centra civilization, passed down between kings for over twenty-two generations, right before they were wiped out in history over eighty years ago. It was a relic, specially moulded with the rarest of materials to hold the remains of their great emperor. It's over two-thousand years old, that was the only one of its kind...and now it's gone."

"Then it should've been encased in some museum and out of arms reach from ignorant citizens like me and Quis!" he barked, while she had to slap herself for that.

"Yes...but it was my choice to take it out of the Dollet's Ancient Arts Museum just so I can be with my wife even after she had passed away...I placed it in my office where no one is allowed but the people I permit to enter. Now, you Mr. Almasy should consider that no one has ever touched it for half a decade until you came into the picture."

"And you just didn't see me comin' now, did ya?"

That comment made Quistis gulp down a large breath of air, as it was no doubt embarrassing on her part—for her boss to know that she has a friend such as Seifer. She sulked in her seat and had to keep herself from committing murder that morning. With her clutching his wrist, engraving crescent marks with her nails, she asked Duke, "Then what is it that you are proposing us to do to amend for the trouble we've caused?"

He cleared his throat, placed his elbows on the table, rested his chin on his clasped hands, and mumbled through his moustache, "I took my time last night, thought about it, came up with this, and decided..." He took from his pocket a folded piece of paper, unfolded it, and handed it over to Quistis for he knew better that she knew better than the man who sat beside her.

Seifer raised an offensive brow at his gesture. Unable to take the blasphemy against his ego, he grabbed the piece of paper and slipped it off Quistis' hand. She could only manage to punch him on the shoulder with his incessant call for attention. She momentarily folded her arms to watch him read the paper, and after a brief self-controlled silence, she interrogated, "So, what is it?"

His pupils were dilated as he scanned the piece of paper for any relevant words, but then he briskly handed her the paper when he heard her ask. "Why don't you figure it out yourself!"

It only took her a second to figure things out, "You didn't understand a word you just read, did you?"

"It simply says we cough up the cash," he quickly blurted to cover-up his incompetence towards legal terms, but it was obvious, he had no idea.

She mockingly rolled her eyes at him before turning her attention to the piece of paper. Her facial expression turned from anxious, to terror, to surprise, and in the end she had a WTF look as her eyes reached the bottom of the paper. "I don't get it," she fretted gruffly turning to her boss.

"HA! It seems like I'm not the only one in this room who's incompetent to the matters of the law," Seifer immediately declared.

Quistis had to roll her eyes again, "Shut up Seifer! Of course I know what I just read...what I don't understand is why all the trouble?"

Duke laughed, "Because I'm getting older, and there's not much to do. I did my part in this lifetime to earn myself the right to mess with other people's lives."

It took her exactly five seconds, staring blankly in space before asking, "And IF it happens, does that mean the winner's debt will be lifted?"

"Of course, it's all written there."

"How long does this contract last?"

"I'll give you..." he paused, brushed his hand down his beard, looked at both parties and quickly figured, "exactly eighteen months starting today."

"That long?" she wondered aloud.

"Judging by the look of things, it won't be easy to nudge either one of you."

Her lip made the slightest beam because he was right, Seifer's tough...but she wasn't gonna give up a hundred-thirty-seven-plus-plus years and live to be the loser between Seifer and her. It's sacrilege! She looked to her left and saw him blanked out. Yep, she knew exactly what to do with him, sort of.

"Now, if you both do mind signing the contract as I have a business trip in Deling within two hours, and I best be on my way." Duke took the torn piece of paper where he wrote his terms, and on the bottom drew three horizontal lines, the last of which he signed his name on.

She took one last good look at the paper before scribbling her signature right above his.

Seifer simply looked pissed when she handed him the pen and the hand-written contract. "Do you seriously think I'm signing some shit agreement without an explanation whatsoever?"

"C'mon Seifer, you think I'd sign something that's going to jeopardize my own self?" Her tone seemed to mean as though she was labelling him as some sort of wuss.

She got him good, because he knew too well the circuits that ran through Quistis' mind, and he knew too well she was never that easy to figure out. Nonetheless, he wasn't a wuss, though not exactly the smartest one, that wasn't the point. He grabbed the pen and briskly scrawled his signature on.

"Good!" Duke jerked himself off his seat by clinging onto his cane and forcing his knees to straighten up. "I'll leave you two as I suppose you have much to discuss." He began to stride out the room by making his best possible effort to accomplish steps longer than a potato wedge. It was simply one foot after the other, lifting off the ground at the height of two inches.

"Wait," Seifer also stood up which only took a quarter of the time he spent to hurl his butt up, "You can't just walk out and not tell us what the fuck is really going on."

His only answer was a smirk. He had managed to go the distance of three meters, and he refused to make the journey back or even speak for that matter. All they could do was stare at him, the whole three-minute journey to the door. When the door made that clicky sound of being shut close, they snapped back from the sight of tumbleweeds rolling along with Mr. Dollet as he walked.

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

Immediately Seifer took a sip at his coffee and began a conversation to make up for the lost time they spent staring at a skinny old man walking across a room. "So, now that we have the table to ourselves, why don't ya tell me about what we just signed ourselves for?"

She leaned back on her seat and folded her arms, "Apparently got ourselves into a bit of an interesting situation."

He raised a brow, "how?"

"It's simple really...we just have to trick each other into falling in love...and the first person to confess his love pays for the urn." It's funny how outlandish words are when congregated to form a piece of contract in the purpose of intimidating the reader to signing his name on the blank space, but not her.

She thought he'd laugh at the situation they're in, but it made him restless instead, "We're under a contract of not falling in love with each other?"

"Not exactly...we just have to _not_ say a particular statement composing of three words and eight letters as long as possible."

"And why the hell is that?"

"Because it means you're in love...and you're not supposed to."

"Are you fucking serious? Or are you just playin' with me?"

"Of course I am...read the contract if you don't believe me."

"Then why the damn did we sign ourselves up for this?"

"Because we have a debt that needs to be paid...and I don't see any problem with losing to you," she cockily said, "why, do you have a problem with the whole idea?"

He opened his mouth about to say something stupid, but he closed them again, opened them again and instead said, "Not when I'm..." He was going for the confession of saying _he never got over her and that he was still a little bit in love_ thing, but he swallowed his words and said something more vague in a denial-sort-of-way, "We never got the chance to resolve _things_..."

"What things?"

"Ya know...c-closure." He choked on his own spit.

She stared at him for a long time, watching his every gesture and analyzing it like he was some criminal in an interrogation room, less the special light effect. His hands were still and not sweating a drop, his eyes weren't dilating—they were fixated at hers, his cheeks glowing—because he was fucking blushing! That realization took her aback. "What closure?" she quickly grumbled without her knowing that she had suddenly asked.

He also jerked back shocked when she asked. "Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? Did you hit yourself or somethin'?"

The conversation was getting vaguer by the minute, so she composed herself and countered his question with a question of her own. "Can you quit it with the questions and just tell me what in the world is going on with you?"

He looked at her—really looked at her, and found something unfamiliar with her face...something strangely foreign. It was as if she was looking at him for the first time; like some stranger she just met. She looked as clueless as she was when they met for the first time in Balamb Garden, back when they were zit-generating teens. She seemed to know nothing of a common romantic past—and it wasn't brought about by ignorance either, it felt more like she was innocent of the whole situation. He decided to speak, about what was, and what it was she should've known when he asked her why—which was good, because if he really looked into her eyes, he'd see a girl who wanted nothing more than to reach forward, grab him by the hair, drag a dirty and not particularly a sharp butter knife across his throat before hurling a cup particularly full of hot caramel macchiato. If the fucking thing was as hot as it was when it burned her tongue, then he would have to drown himself in a bucket of ice. She had been on the edge ever since they broke the impossibly expensive urn, and she wasn't taking any more of his ridiculous self-serving words if he didn't explain himself right that instant.

He began his story with the exchange of _I love you_s on stage, followed by the kiss in front of the crowd, down to year-long relationship they had as lovers...and even his own opinion why things didn't turn out the way it did, when it should've been more...permanent.

When all was said and done, she felt like she was just dipped in the Trabian Sea...the thought of her and Seifer being so in love sent chills down her spine and back up to her eye sockets. She bent down, momentarily covered her face with her palms, and took a moment to just sit still and think of nothing but the face of Seifer...he was sort of there, but then it occurred to her, "Why should I believe that what you're saying is true?"

"Because you know me, I'm not a liar."

"Funny how much I can't remember you when we were supposed to more than just friends."

"Then what can you remember?"

She thought hard, "Honestly?" she was a bit blundering at that point when she came up with an answer, "I guess it would be the night we were supposed to drink Aurora's potion."

"Well, that's pathetic!" he scoffed, "That makes you clueless about everything."

"No, you were always this vague figure in my memory. I never really imagined that would be you, and you know..._us_."

"And you never bothered to ask anyone about this handsome guy who wouldn't get out of your head?"

"No one really had an answer...no...everyone refused to answer, so I just kept quiet."

She was about to create a very unforgettable memory of Seifer with what transpired after she said those words. He grabbed both her hands wrapping it into his, and knocked his temple upon their balled hands. Lowering his head to gaze at the table, he couldn't stare her straight in the face as he uttered words with a cracking voice, "What happened to you?"

When he finally raised his head, she could clearly see tears forming on its sides. She couldn't immediately react, moreover, she didn't know what to say because she didn't know the answer, she could only watch as he wiped off the tear that was about to fall down his lower lids.

"I...I'm sorry...I don't know either." It was the first time she had seen him so hopeless, and it was something she felt responsible but helpless about. For so many years, she had found herself as perfectly normal, but what he said, and by how he said it, it made her doubt herself...maybe there was something she didn't know. She stroked his face and held his chin to raise his head to eyelevel. "Can you answer your question for me?" She too was as curious as he was, because like him, she didn't know what was going on.

"Because Seifer's a jerk, and you almost ruined your life when he left you heartbroken."

Both turned to see the owner of the familiar voice who so managed to catch their attention. It was Xu, giving Seifer a burning stare.

"You got some balls to say that to my face Xu," he spat to acknowledge her presence. Exasperation quickly overshadowed his sorrow.

"Yeah, my parents cut them off when decided to raise me as a girl."

"Bad choice, you look more like a man."

"Fuck you!"

"Now why the hell are you here?"

"Because I know you're here, and I'm Quistis' best friend. I'm always in tuned to that _secret besties frequency_ and the news somehow reached me. Think of Carl Jung's theory of the collective unconscious, facilitated by technology."

"By technology, you mean that metal plate embedded into your skull?"

"Jess called," she barked, showing him a dirty little finger.

"And who the hell is Jess?"

"Her sister," Quistis answered for her. It was the only time she managed to get into the conversation.

"Ahhh...I suppose she is. I haven't seen her, but I hate her already."

"Shut up!" she barked, then grabbed Quistis by the shoulders. "You, listen to me. You cannot be friends with someone you used to be madly in love with. Even if you are no longer romantically inclined toward them. They have no right to get over you. They have no right to be happy. After you, their lives can only be howling wilderness of pain and misery. Right now he's miserable, so slap him!"

"Xu, I can't just slap him." She refused with a very reasonable excuse: she had no reason to the extent of her knowledge.

"Give her a break Xu, she's clueless."

"Fine, I'll give her a clue by your word!" She aggressively examined and cross-examined, shrieking in downright outrage, while right beside her was Quistis quietly listening a past untold for five long years. And after a long discussion, she concluded by admitting, "And the thing is, I came here to stop Seifer. Something happened between you years ago, and you repressed your memory just to ease the hurt. Nothing went right in your relationship the first time, and I'm not gonna let you prove me right the second time."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she said in inexpressive disbelief.

"I just told you."

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

That night, she stirred out of bed at the stroke of midnight...for the last two or so hours, all she could do was look at the moon through her skylight ceiling and make a hard contemplation on what had been revealed to her that morning. No matter how hard she tried to think of anything else but him, her thoughts kept falling back to everything that happened between Seifer and her...which was more than a lot now that she took the time to think about it—but nothing about romance struck her head.

Turning to the picture on her table, she made it her decision to do something about the situation. With her guts decided and her resolution firm, she stood up, took her purse and put on her coat before striding out her room.

In the vast emptiness of the streets at midnight, she clung to her coat as the chilling breeze slapped her from head to toe. Stepping into the cobbled street felt like stepping into liquid nitrogen. Even with her coat on, it was friggin cold. She had to semi-run to the fountain when she spotted the lady cloaked in black velvet.

"Excuse me," she said tapping the woman's shoulder from the back.

"WHOA!" she jumped in terrifying shock, scaring Quistis away. By the time she turned back, the poor blonde was holding onto her heart four meters away. "What in darn tarnation' are ye doin' all the way back there? If you wanna do business at least have some respect and do it right!" she scolded, flapping her hand, signalling her to get closer.

She took precaution as she took baby steps towards the old woman.

"C'mon, c'mon, I haven't got all night! My grandmother walks faster than you!" Of course she was being sarcastic, as she looked like a great grandmum.

"Lady Aurora, is it?" she tried to confirm, in case she was just speaking to some loony woman who made it her habit to hang out in the street after dark.

"Who else would I be?" she nattered.

Perhaps she wasn't mistaken about the loony part. "I need to buy a potion."

"You're gonna have'ta be more specific than that honey, there are dozen of them types and I'm not gonna play yer guessing game." Aurora was blabbering about nonsense as she took out bottles of potion and laid them in rows for Quistis to be amazed—but she amazed herself more than Quistis.

"I need a potion that will prevent me from falling in love with a particular man."

"What? Why? Who?"

Quistis raised a brow, "I really can't answer that."

"HA! You think it's none of my business to know, is it? Well whatever...it's not like I'm interested in knowing your life anyway!" she said in offense.

She closed her eyes and held down her temper, "Can I just please have the potion I need."

"Well..." she rummaged through her bottles, making a lot of fuss and not minding the noise she was creating at midnight. Finally she grabbed hold of a special-looking bottle. "Ahhhh...here we go, the _Forget About Him Potion_."

"How does it work?"

"Well DUH! It is a potion that will constrain all your memories of the man. Everything—from your past up to the future memories you will create with him. It's as if he never exists in your life."

"Everything?"

"As in super-everything!"

"All of it?"

"Girl, when did the word _everything_ ever mean not-everything?"

She hesitated. Was she ready to lose Seifer, _permanently_? She now knew that something happened between them in the past, and that a potion had made her forget of their affair, but not the Seifer Almasy she had known since she was five, and the Seifer Almasy she will someday know when she turns fifty. Still, he had terribly hurt her once, and if fate was playing its little games again, then she wasn't playing it because she couldn't take any more pain, the possibilities simply frightened her. She was now a realist, and no longer the hopeless romantic that she once was, she thought.

"How much is it?"

"It's initially 1500 Gil, but I'll charge an extra 20 Gil for pulling my nerve, and another 50 Gil for not knowing the meaning of _everything_."

She frowned. "But can I at least get a discount for waiting up until midnight for you and having to do business the middle of the freezing street?"

"Alright wise dame, I'll give you a 70 Gil discount, so that's 1500 Gil."

She let out a sighing groan. She waited long enough, might as well cough out 1500 Gil and call it a night. Besides, getting a bargain seemed impossible. She handed the old goth her 1500 Gil.

Before Lady Aurora gave her the potion, she just wanted to know...in other terms, wanted to mind other people's business and asked, "What's the man's name?"

"Seifer...Seifer Almasy," she unconsciously blurted as his face flashed in her head again.

Quistis only managed to feel the bottle on her fingertips when the woman suddenly drew the potion back. "OH NO YOU DON'T!"

Her eyes widened with shock. "Hey, I paid for that!"

Suddenly, it all came reeling back. "You!" the old woman declared, pointing her sharp nails at the flabbergasted Quistis. "You were that woman at Balamb whom I read that her destiny is to be with a Seifer Almasy! You were the one who that bitch raven-haired Xu told me about who believed in fairytales!"

"Yes...that was me." She didn't know whether to be flattered or scared.

_Dramatic pause_...

"The love potion didn't work fer ya, eh babe?"

She looked at the ground. _Er_..."We never drank the potion."

"But you DID fall in love!"

"I suppose, fell...but it's over now."

"Is it?"

"Yes, and it's never gonna happen again," she said in a low-cracking voice.

"Tell me...why?"

_Silence_. She didn't answer.

The old woman held her hand and asked again, "Why?"

Quistis didn't answer still.

"TELL ME WHY YOU BITCH!"

Okay—she was telling—either that, or she dies. "Because it didn't work out okay!" she finally screamed, but had to pinch herself to lower her voice, "He left me...and never came back...at least I was told."

"Where is he?"

"In the hotel," she said, pointing at the not-so-distant building.

"Man, you're a pretty stupid blonde aren't ya? Not only do you NOT know the word _everything_, but the term '_come back'_ as well," she scolded. She was the first to call the Quistis Trepe '_stupid_'. Perhaps there is a first to everything. Aurora wanted to smack her in the back, but not before a lecture.

_SMACK_

"Ow!"

Okay, she had to smack her first before the lecture. "You know, some people ignore the signs until they get smacked right at the back of the head." Aurora smiled. Quistis had no argument, rather, she chose not to argue in order to save herself from another smacking. "Ya know, I may not know the guy except that he's HOT, but I can tell he's a guy who know what he wants, and that's why he's here, because it took him all these years to figure out and get what he REALLY wants."

Quistis let out a loud sigh and gestured the fortuneteller to hand her the potion. Because although she made a point, she did not know the feeling of being crushed to a thousand pieces and be glued together only to be crushed again. "Then he'll have to do it the hard way."

The old woman '_tried'_ to un-purposely let the potion slip her grip. It fell. It smashed. And her regret wasn't as un-purpose.

"Oh dammit! And that was the LAST bottle!"

"I paid for that!" Quistis barked.

She laughed. "Oh don't worry, I have a synthetic spare for cases like these."

"I'm not drinking a synthetic potion!"

"Oh, what do you know about witch-sorcery-magic-potions-thingy? I just add water and tah-dah! A synthetic potion!"

She was talking to a crazed woman, but she had to play along because although it was hard to admit her potions do work, and she desperately needed one. "So does that mean forgetting him is only temporary?"

"Oh, who am I kidding! You just wasted your breath and the few brain cells you have left in figuring out something stupid."

Aurora was really getting on her nerves—ALL OF THEM.

She took out another bottle and showed it to her. "BUT! This is a special kind of potion—you know what it does!"

"Of course I don't!" she hissed.

Stupid blondie.

"What you're up to is not to eliminate him from your life, but not to fall in love with him, is it not?"

She nodded. _Duh_! Stupid old hag.

"Well missy, hear this out: this potion stops the term '_falling in love_' from registering in the brain. Meaning, you can keep all your dirty memories of him naked in bed, and will continue to remember every new memory you will create with him. You can like him and curse him, but it prevents your emotions to go to the extremes—meaning, you can't hate him or love him—in other words, it will only be lust, so you can fantasize about him all you want, but not fall in love. Great potion, eh?"

That was quite a good potion she was talking about, but was it possible, and, "Are there any side-effects?"

"Just one...mental retardation."

"WHAT?"

"Okay, I may have overstated the word. I'll explain in a long sentence then: you will experience having some confused feelings with him. There will be times when you won't know where to place you feelings because it will always be neutral. So there will be times when you want to slap him or kiss him—every emotion you will have for him will always be bounded, that is, until the spell is broken."

"How do you break it?"

"I dunno!"

"WHAT?"

"HEY! I only make em, not try them out myself." She grumbled, and before Quistis could say anything more, Aurora threw at her the potion and scuttled away in frolic motion like some lunatic in the peak of getting high from a weed overdose.

Left on her own and without choice, she opened the vial and gulped down the whole thing. _Eeek_...it tasted like baby shampoo.

* * *

**o 0 o**

* * *

Sneak Preview:

* * *

Randomness and Serendipity

Chapter 5

"Seifer—what did you do!" Instead of telling him that she was wishing him good luck, she told him not to cry.

"That bad huh?"

At least she didn't scream…she simply laughed…boisterously, and at his face…which was worse.

"Give me that." She ordered the scissors to be placed on her hand. He didn't refuse. _It couldn't possibly get any worse_. She dragged him out of the bathroom and had him seated on the only stool in his living space. "Do you want to make this any shorter, or do I just level it to where you trimmed?"

That sounded like she knew what she was doing…that felt _almost_ reassuring.

"As long as it looks good," he said, sounding rather relieved that she was there to save the day.

"Okay…I'll try."

_Try! _

At her word, she started working on his hair, snipping a bit here, and a bit there, trying to shape some order from the chaos he hacked out.

Snip, snip, snip…

Snip, snip, snip…

Snip, snip…

Snip

"How does it look?" He finally asked, after what seemed like ten minutes.

* * *

A/N: Okay, here's a question: do I owe you guys, who waited forever for this chapter and perhaps at one point thought that I was never gonna do an update, an apology? The answer is...I'm sorry! Many things happened and I just lost touch of the Seiftis fever for a moment there...but I got it back a few weeks ago, and it took me a few weeks to write this down because work can be a viscous thing on one's schedule. Anyway...I browsed what's up for my next chapter, and it seems more funny than story related. Hehe...don't lose hope! I'm gonna be finishing this fic! For now, please leave a review for me to know you're still there. :)


	5. Randomness and Serendipity

**Randomness and Serendipity**

Chapter 5

* * *

His mind had been drifting back and forth, thinking about what the Article 9.2.1 Section 4.3.2 of the Dollet Constitution's Code of Conduct really meant, and what kind of fungi was growing at the corner of his wall. There was a lot to think about, considering there was a lot at stake...his entire future. Not only did that paper contained both Quistis' and his signature under the agreement of not falling in love, but also a possibility of paying a 7-digit bill. His hand had began to redden with curdled blood brought about by excessive pounding of the table, so excessive in fact that the nail partially jutting out that morning has managed to bury itself flat down. He had been reading the damn thing the whole night, and even if he was able to rest of what remained of his brain cells for a couple of hours, it remained stupid enough from comprehending legal terms. Although Quistis had explained it to him more than his fingers could count, he had to figure it out himself; but instead of proving Quistis wrong, he was proving himself to be nothing more than a egotistic dumbass.

Arriving to the conclusion that he couldn't make sense of anything, he gruffly stood from his seat and headed for the hotel to ask Quistis the same questions he had asked for the something-teen time, and make an excuse to eat breakfast with her.

He saw her standing behind the hotel cafe's closed door with her arms akimbo. She seemed hesitant about entering the cafe, she was just standing there with a ridiculous expression that he cautioned himself as he approached her...he very well knew what that woman could do, and the idea of asking her about their contract somehow suddenly frightened him. Instead, he slowly walked towards her and simply waved when he saw her glimpse at him.

"Hey—"

"Shhh!" she interrupted, "let's wait here a bit."

It didn't take much for him to figure out what she meant, from where they stood, he could hear a lot of commotion coming from the cafe.

"That's the third espresso machine you broke this month!"

"I said I didn't break it! It broke on its own!"

"There is no self-destruct feature in espresso machines!"

"No, but this piece of crap apparently does!"

"That's coming out of your pay check!"

"THE HELL?"

"You just ruined my morning! NOW PAY UP!

"HELL NO! The thing's worth four months of my full salary!"

"Then what are you gonna do about it!"

A brief silence, then a sudden scuffle...

"I QUIT!"

"You can't quit! You owe me three espresso machines!"

"No, because I'm getting outta here!" the man's voice echoed in the hallway as he sprinted out the door carrying a two bottles of expensive wine.

"HEEEEEEY! GET BACK HERE!"

"How am I supposed to drink my morning coffee now?"

That was the last thing he heard before getting the go signal from Quistis to follow her. Inside were Xu and Mr. Dollet, both seemed prickly about the morning. He immediately tapped Quistis and whispered, "Let's get outta here if you don't want your boss screamin' at you next."

She giggled her reply, "The only thing he said was the last statement you heard."

"Huh?"

"Did it ever occur to you that it was a woman's voice screaming?" she added, secretly pointing at Xu.

"No...it sounded more like a man," he quietly kidded. "Does she even work here?"

She slightly shook her head, but added, "She just comes here a lot so she knows everyone and everything that's going on."

"I expected as much, she's a pain wherever she goes."

They both giggled a little louder the second time, calling attention to the other two who were in also in the room.

"Oh great, another sucker to leech on my morning!" She scoffed when she caught him looking at her with mocking eyes.

"Oh shut up you stupid harpy, you just cost Duke his morning coffee," he rebutted with scorn.

"Please, I don't need this right now...I need coffee or my blood pressure will shoot up by noon." An old deadbeat voice came from Duke's mouth. "Quistis, please call my driver, I'll take my coffee somewhere else."

"Yes sir," she said, and was about to leave as instructed when Seifer had a sudden breakthrough.

Faced with uncertainty, humans take shortcuts in assessing the patterns and making judgements. It doesn't help that the human mind insists on identifying a definite cause for every effect, and has difficulty accepting the influence of random factors. Our response to chance and uncertainty is amazingly complex: different structures within our brains reach different conclusions, and then fight it out to determine which conclusion we will believe.

Simply put, we cannot recognize randomness when it's staring us in the face. There is a difference between a process being random, and the product of that process appearing to be random.

To Seifer, nothing is an act of randomness, everything had been predetermined by fate, and Lady Destiny and Mr. Opportunity brought about this incident: a chance, to be with her every...freakin'...day!

"I can make you coffee."

Everyone turned to him and gave him an assortment of looks.

"If by that you mean instant coffee, then you just embarrassed yourself in front of the richest man in Dollet." Xu spat, but unlike her, Duke was desperate.

"Do you know how to brew a good Winhill coffee?" asked the one and only Mr. Dollet.

"Hell yeah, I was taught by Winhill's best barista! They call him the _Master of Perfect Coffee_. All it takes is a secret coffee-to-water ratio and a good instinct. It makes quite a cup." He smugly declared, trying to impress Dollet that he had the chops to satisfy his taste buds.

"Very well...impress me with a taste of your secret brew," the boss dared, smirking at him with a crooked moustache.

He smirked back with the same arrogance then went to the other side of the bar and began selecting the tools he needed for the demonstration. He took a portion of beans and had it passed around the table to be sniffed respectively by the audience. They "ooh" and "ah" and imagine going up the Winhill Alps on a llama. Then he held up the metal scoop-thing from the espresso machine and filled it with finely-ground beans, tamping down the stuff as if he were making explosives not beverages. He carefully measured out the exact volume of water per cup, holding the beaker up to the light to ensure accuracy. Apparently he knew what he was doing. Finally, he pressed the ON button and stood back to view his handiwork.

For a minute or so there was nothing but a faint gurgling, and then there was that sound. A rumble, then the sharp hiss of steam raised louder and louder, like a rocket that was about to lift off. Mouse and roaches fled the room. Then the much-anticipated event occurred.

Thick rich coffee dripped from the spout. Drip...drip... Then it grew into a trickle. When the little cup contained a centimetre and a half of the brew, he handed it to them like a delicate artefact. Seemed a shame they just quaffed it after all the trouble Seifer went through.

For those who appreciated coffee, found the brew to be the perfect Winhill coffee: full-bodied with a floral aroma, bright flavoured, and with a hint of citrus. For Xu, it was very bitter and very hot.

"This ain't coffee!" she complained, sticking out her tongue at the awful aftertaste. To her, it tasted like something one would pick up on Duke's shower drain.

"That's because you don't know what coffee is," was his simple defence.

"Hmmmm..." Dollet had indulged in the drink, and so he had to ask for a second opinion, "Quistis, what do you think?"

She had to admit, "That was good coffee."

He turned to Seifer's direction, "Well Mr. Almasy, what do you think about working for me?"

"Let me put it this way, if I was you, and I was me, I'd be thrilled to hire me," was his way of saying _yes_.

He laughed; he was hiring a man with quite a character—another to his collection of unique workforce. "Good. You start working for me the moment you cut your hair tidy like the rest of my employees." That was his new boss's first order of business as it had been his wish to cut Seifer's hair when he first saw him enter his hotel. He then strode out of the room to a place no one really cares to know.

* * *

**o 0 o**

* * *

He checked up his appearance on the bathroom's mirror and noticed that the hair on the back of his head has become unruly and has reached down the bottom part of his nape, in fact, has reached to touch his shoulders. He had just been to the barber two months ago…okay…eight months. But why the heck did he have to blow his money up on such hedonistic extravagance? To tame his hair growing at a hyper-accelerated rate—that was one; and two_…he needed the job._

He frowned at the thought. When he unthinkingly opened the cabinet the mirror was attached to, his frown immediately vanished, and his face lit up to an impish smirk when he saw a pair of well sharpened scissors stuck in a cup together with some bandages and a thermometer.

Instead of going to the barber yet again, why not cut his own hair and spare himself some change?

He picked up the scissors and inserted his fingers in proper fashion before he started snipping away.

Snip, snip, snip…

Snip, snip, snip…

Snip, snip…

Snip

Hair on the sink, hair on the tiled floor, hair clinging to his forearms. He was cutting blindly, trusting that his instincts would not lead him astray, and occasionally stopping to feel the back of his head. After a few minutes of mindless cutting, he _cleverly_ decided that he needed visual confirmation as well. So he searched for a hand mirror, when he did, stood in front of the bathroom mirror, and tried to angle the two reflective surfaces so that he could view his handiwork. After some hand contortions, he succeeded, and immediately wished he hadn't. He remembered Zell's bad hair phase, which apparently lasted his entire life.

While choking back desperate sobs, Quistis came in to deliver his new uniform.

"Seifer—what did you do!" Instead of telling him that she was wishing him good luck, she told him not to hurt himself.

"That bad huh?"

At least she didn't scream…she simply laughed…boisterously, and at his face…which was worse.

"Give me that." She ordered the scissors to be placed on her hand. He didn't refuse. _It couldn't possibly get any worse_. She dragged him out of the bathroom and had him seated on the only stool in his living space. "Do you want to make this any shorter, or do I just level it to where you trimmed?"

That sounded like she knew what she was doing…that felt _almost_ reassuring.

"As long as it looks good," he said, sounding rather relieved that she was there to save the day.

"Okay…I'll try."

_Try? _

At her word, she started working on his hair, snipping a bit here, and a bit there, trying to shape some order from the chaos he hacked out.

Snip, snip, snip…

Snip, snip, snip…

Snip, snip…

Snip

"How does it look?" He finally asked, after what seemed like ten minutes.

Silence

"I'll pay for your haircut first thing tomorrow."

* * *

**o 0 o**

* * *

After successfully emerging out of the barber shop spending less than should—being his only expense was the barber's tip after Quistis had kept her promise of paying for his haircut bill, he rushed to Dollet Hotel to avoid being later than 30 minutes, which he already was…thanks to the much unnecessary fuss Dollet men had to do to keep their hair short, if baldness wasn't enough to keep their head cool. He ran his hand through his scalp and felt it so barren—it was the first time his hair was cut that short…at 1cm per strand, he was practically bald. Apparently the barber was serious when he said that it was a hopeless case of bad hair that he had to take down all the bad parts, which was 99% of his hair.

It wasn't a surprise that everyone was looking at him with weird recognition the moment he opened the door.

The first to greet him was Duke, off all people his new boss had to be the one standing at the door the moment he barged in. "Seifer, what I meant yesterday was that you should trim your hair, not shave it off." Was the old man's first comment when he saw him enter, not the '_late on the first day means you're fired_' remark. That almost made up for the loss of his beautiful golden locks.

"Swear...this won't happen again." That meant three things: getting late, cutting his own hair, and letting Quistis cut his hair.

"Make sure of it. Now get to your station because I need my coffee."

"Got it," he saluted, picking up enthusiasm upon his first order. He headed for his station and quickly whipped up his secret concoction for a drowsy Mr. Dollet.

First days always had that certain awkward allure that gets your adrenaline running, and Seifer was no different, even if he was the last employee to enter the hotel. After making the first cup, he had a moment to look around his workstation, and all it took was a 45-degree rotation of his neck to both sides and he was able to see everything. Directly staring straight on the opposite end of the room he saw rows of empty vintage leather couches positioned back-to-back until it filled up the entire stretch. His eyes passed the centre of the cafe where oak-carved chairs lacquered in dark walnut tone circled around the grand chandelier made entirely out of antlers and incandescent bulbs. On the right side of the room, ornate stained-glass windows made swirls of colored pattern light appear on the floor. Beside one of the windows sat his lone customer reading the morning paper, and sipping his cup of _Seifer Special_...Duke...looked like any average man despite his status—if not to mention his subliminal intentions towards the "deal" he made with him and Quistis. He was quite the character.

As of the moment, Seifer could make no conclusion about his situation, just an unrelenting determination to get, what he believe is, the love of his life back...even if she had forgotten that the feeling was supposed to be mutual...and even if the contract they were bound to meant that they shouldn't fall in love. Quite the unfair world he was living in, but it was the only world he and Quistis could be together...and it was his best shot of fulfilling his promise to himself, and everyone else he boasted to during his miserably drunken nights.

He heard the kettle whistle, that shook him back from his romantic thoughts, and back to the obnoxious self he had to be. His eyes became stern and when he looked to his left, his attitude problem surfaced. "The heck do you want?" he spat when he saw a familiar raven whom he thought was Xu.

"A double-shot espresso coffee slave!" she counter-spat with the same level of arrogance.

Seifer was caught off-guard when he realized Xu was standing right behind the girl he was speaking with.

"Hey, I love what you did with the hair you have left," Xu mock-complimented when she saw Seifer's head. "And by the way, she's Jessica—AND don't ask why our names don't sound like the rest of the sibling population does."

"Why?"

"Because our mother said so—now where's my coffee?" Jessica amazingly sounded as heated towards Seifer as Xu was.

"You'll have it if you shut up in the next three minutes," he said, as he prepared her order.

The moment he placed her order on the pick-up counter he caught sight of Xu rolling her eyes, but before they could spark another debate Quistis came into the picture and immediately the atmosphere changed.

"Come with me, there's someone I want you to meet." Quistis looked excited when she said that, so too did he when he saw her that she was. She pulled him by the hand out of his station, and led him to the kitchen where a lone man stood, chopping away a piece of onion, and sniffing away his tears. "Chef Lokie, I'll be leaving you to meet the newest member of our staff." were the only words she said before leaving Seifer with a man holding a knife in hysterics.

He tried to say '_wait'_, but she was quicker than the word, and so there he was looking at the man and could only make an, "Er..." sound.

"Ev cors, ze famous Zeifer Almazy." Lokie greeted with a raised brow as he momentarily stopped his work to look at Seifer.

"Finally, a man who reads the news!" he said in relief that there was still someone in the world who knew him even after seven years of living in the shadows.

Mario suddenly bust the big surprising, "HA!" causing ze Zeifer Almazy to take a step back. "I didn't need to listen to ze news. You were all over ze place!" he continued in frantic wave of his knife chopping the air away with his swinging that it was enough for a man like Seifer to feel fear. "You ver a wrecking ball! I was at Balamb, you were zer. I was at Deling, you wer zer. Fer Adel's sake, even when I waz in Ezthar you were zer!" He said the last statement pointing the knife directly at Seifer's scar. "NOW I am in Dollet and you are here..."

"Yeah...?" Seifer held the knife away from his face in case the crazy man's next statement would be, '_DIE!_'.

"I do hope we can be chum-chums!" he laughed hysterically.

"Uh...yeeeahh..." he wasn't too happy with the offer.

"Good. NOW GET ZE HELL OUT OF MY KITCHEN!" Was Lokie's way of declaration of their friendship. He then began pushing him out of the door like a chimpanzee taking on a gorilla.

When they got to the other side of the door, Quistis could only hold in her giggle as she watched the two wrestled out of the kitchen. "I'll see you at dinner chef." She smiled.

"Sure sure." He grumpily said turning back towards the kitchen waving his hand and flipping the '_Do Not Disturb!_' sign before slamming the door.

"How did it go?" Quistis immediately grinned when she saw Seifer giving her a livid stare.

"Why the hell did you make me meet that nutcase!"

"If you want to live on great meals, then that's the only way to get it."

"Is it worth the trouble? And by that, I mean befriending a deranged man?"

"It is. You do realize people with eccentricities are geniuses."

He twitched his lip to agree in a crude way, and then a thought struck him, "Oddly enough, that old crack reminds me of another ancient artefact with the same accent and mental disproportion in Esthar."

"Yes, Dr. Odine, the brother of."

That answered all of his floating questions. "Must be genetic."

She folded her arms and giggled, "Could be."

When the giggling subdued and silence roused, he asked her, "What's gonna happen now?"

She knew, immediately, that what he meant wasn't just a question of what they'll be doing right after the day was over. She could see in the sternness of his eyes that it was a question waiting of a long-term answer, and right at that moment what popped in her head was simple, "We have eighteen months to figure it out."

"Does that mean we're playin' _his_ game?"

"It's already begun...and trust me, I'm not gonna make this easy for you."

"Oh yeah? And how sure are you on that?" he cockily smirked to know how she was handling the situation.

She held him by the chin and whispered to his lips as close as possible, "to begin with, I'm not the one still a little bit in love." She could see his body stiffen at her word, and with that confirmation, she seductively stroked his lips and left him feeling like a boy on the peak of his puberty. He grew zits right on the spot!

He watched her sway her hips, and he knew that she knew that he was palpitating, and that she loved every bit of it. An unlikely move for the Quistis Trepe that he knew, and that made him want her even more. Still, he knew whom he was dealing with, and he took it upon himself that what she was doing was her way of making him struggle with the situation...and not merely a random act of responding to his advances or wanting to get laid. Damn that bitch was good!

He made a decision to take into account that Quistis needed to be wooed again to make things even because she was right, she had the upper hand...he was still..._maybe_...a little bit in love. Assuming that it was the only thing she knew because she wasn't reacting in sort of how other females would to an ex-lover, he had another breakthrough. He suddenly realized the mistake of drinking the potion that made her forget about him, because it also meant forgetting _all_ the hurt and mistakes she had to endure being with him. He had a clean new slate, and he was not going to mess it up this second time.

What he has is an illustration of how randomness is misinterpreted to fit the narrative in his mind. He liked to look for patterns and find connections in unrelated events. This way he could explain it to himself. Life seems neater, or at least less messy by how he was looking at things. He always needed to feel that he was in control: it is integral to his self-esteem. He also knew, though he denies it, that he wasn't not in control—especially when around Quistis. So he settled for the illusion of control.

He could not recognize randomness even when it's staring him in the face. There is a difference between a process of being random, and the product of that process appearing to be random. To him, everything has been predetermined according to his advantage...even if at the moment he didn't know exactly what it was. A perfect opportunity to pursue his new romantic dream!

_BWAHAHAHAHA!_—that was Seifer's evil mind going into spasms.

* * *

Sneak Preview:

* * *

**Extending Shortcuts**

Chapter 6

"What's that?" he curiously asked, pointing at Seifer.

At first, Seifer turned back to see if what was behind him, but saw nothing in particular. "What's what?"

"That, on youw face!"

He scanned his face with his hand to check if something was sticking on his face, but he felt nothing. "The hell are you pointing at!"

He too was getting irritated at the confusion. "That wong bwown thing on yow face!" he screamed, running at Seifer and jumping with all his might to reach and scratch his scar.

Gabrielle's nails didn't hurt his scar, but it definitely chafed his face. "You can't just jump and scrape people's faces—especially mine!" he scolded with threatening eyes.

* * *

**o 0 o**

* * *

A/N: I thought I'd make this update as a Valentine's Day gift to you, even if it ain't romantic. Haha. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm slowly making progress on the next one... Next chapter, I'm gonna introduce to you a new cute character to brighten up this fic...yes, that's Gabrielle.


	6. Extending Shortcuts

**Extending Shortcuts**

Chapter 6

* * *

Exhausted from his fifth morning of waking up at six-thirty, it took him until mid-morning to work up the energy to think clearly. He looked around his new territory, La Café Dollet, and saw just three people out of the eighteen-seater space. He was glad at the customer turnout. He wasn't losing any money, in fact he was being paid to watch as the three sit still and sip away caffeine in their leisurely pace. That's the life of a barista, he figured. If only there was a little excitement to perk up his shop then maybe he could be distracted from thinking too deeply about his present state of misery. Hyne gave him another hour of pitiful contemplation before finally answering his subconscious plea.

"I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" a high-pitched scream echoed in after a loud door slam.

Seifer watched as a very young boy around the age of five run in and pounced on Duke, and by the looks of it, the man almost cracked his spine at the sudden attack of cuddles. Seifer held on the only thing that could sedate the boy in case his boss had to call on him to knock down the possessed child. He readied his weapon, a bottle of caramel flavouring, and was about to make his advances when a single word stopped him from his intentions.

"Daddy!" the boy cried, hugging hard the helpless man who could only smile back in delight.

He could only admire Duke from a distance as he returned the bottle on the counter. No, admiration was an overstatement as in fact it was more of a higher regard for the old man upon the realization of his ability to sire a young soul despite his age. Perhaps he should ask for advice regarding potency one of these days, not that he needed it...just a topic of discussion should he need to kill off dead air arrives.

"Hi Gabrielle, welcome back," Quistis greeted with a smile as she stepped forward to pat the boy's head. "How was the trip?"

"Oh it was delightful!" answered an old woman in her early seventies who stood right behind the child as she scuffled through her purse. "Now if only I could find those pictures we took so that you can see the wonderful strawberry field."

The boy turned back to with a confused expression, "but we didn't take pichuews!"

The old lady stopped at his word, "oh, we didn't?"

"Naaaaw!" Gabrielle gruffly roared.

"So much for memories," she sadly sighed, but quickly picked up her mood right after. "Now where is that good for nothing Jessica? I think I left my dirty laundry on her sink when we left. I hope she got the message and not left it rotting there for a week."

Quistis giggled, "I think she got the message. She's right in her room with Xu."

"Oh great, they're both here!"

Quistis watched her sagging behind as she slowly made it up the stairs, not missing on smiling at her sarcasm. By the time her attention returned to the two, Gabrielle had calmed down, while poor old Duke was panting for air. Saving him from his misery, she took the young boy's hand and led him away. "Maybe you should let your father breathe while we go and meet our newest staff member."

Seifer noticed that they were heading to his direction, so he braced himself after witnessing what just transpired.

"Gabe, I'd like you to meet Seifer." She lifted him up and had him stand on the bar stool so he could see the man behind the counter as his height only levelled the countertop. "Seifer, this is Gabrielle, Duke's only son and my student."

Of course, he wanted to have an impression, so he shook the boys hand and said, "Nice to finally meet the one who blows up condoms for Quistis."

It didn't take a second for her to get furious and twitch his ear as hard as she could. "I can't believe you just said that! If this gets to Mr. Dollet, I swear you will feel pain more painful than this."

He was wincing as he bent his neck to the direction of Quistis' pull. "Shit, let go!" He had no choice but to forcibly pull off her hand because she wasn't kidding, she meant to inflict real pain. "Damn Quis, you're setting a bad example to your beloved student." He sarcastically sounded sincere.

"Very funny. Why don't you fix Gabrielle a cup of milk instead?" she cockily suggested before noticing that her kid was giving Seifer an odd stare. She was about to lift him off the stool when she heard Duke's voice calling her name with a tone of urgency. She snapped from her current thoughts and immediately left the site with haste, leaving the child with Seifer.

From where he stood, Gabe could see something different about the man behind the counter. "What's that?" he curiously asked, pointing at Seifer.

At first, Seifer turned back to see if what was behind him, but saw nothing in particular. "What's what?"

"That, on youw face!"

He scanned his face with his hand to check if something was sticking on his face, but he felt nothing. "The hell are you pointing at?"

He too was getting irritated at the confusion. "That wong bwown thing on yow face!" he screamed, running at Seifer and jumping with all his might to reach and scratch his scar.

Gabrielle's nails didn't hurt his scar, but it definitely chafed his face. "HEY! You can't just jump and scrape people's faces—especially mine!" he scolded with threatening eyes.

"I'm sowie! But ya didn't undewstand what I was saywing!" he incisively defended his action.

"Well screw that...what about my scar?"

"Scaw...?" he asked in all innocence.

"Ya know, your father pays your teacher Quisty lots'a money. She should have taught you about scars by now!" he casually teased.

"...Well...maybe scaws aw bad, that's why teecher didn't teach me," was the only explanation he could give.

"Give me twenty bucks and I'll tell ya all about it." He was kidding, but wouldn't mind at all if the child took him seriously.

He reached for a twenty, but his cash only came by the hundreds. "I have a hundwed." He meekly offered with his tiny hand.

"A hundred's fine." He grinned briskly grabbing the bill off his hand. "Now, sit back because this is gonna be one hell of an adventure!"

"WEALLY!?"

He had the child seated, and for a moment, forgot that he was on duty. There was always something about Seifer and telling stories that made him sound almost convincing no matter how farfetched reality was to his thoughts at times. It was obviously one of his great loves, to talk about himself and tell everyone every piece of crap he had done. No matter how painful certain memories were, he had found it amusing of telling his tale...because after over half a decade, he was healing from whatever shit he did. The story, his story, had a title: The Knight and the Puberty Boy. One could only guess who the awesome knight was and who was the lowly boy who never gotten past his puberty years. And while its subject was violent, the words itself didn't glamorize violence. He was considerate that way, making a means to lessen the brutal reality of cutting each other with oversized blades when talking to a five-year-old.

"Our blades clashed over and over, but mostly I did the attacking because remember, Squall's a scaredy-cat so all he does is hide behind his crappy sword. Anyway, there I was, the greatest knight of all about to slay the evil Puberty Boy, when suddenly he screams 'NOOOO!' like a little girl, but it was too late because I've already casted Fira to save the world from his exploding zit pits."

"Did it expwode like KABOOM?!" his eyes were getting twice as large.

"Yeah sure, but reality makes a crappy special effects kid—still! I caught him off guard and gave him the cut of his life."

Gabe's eyes widened even more, he was really into the story.

"With blood gushing out of his face, he turned his blade when I wasn't looking, became a copycat, and sliced me with his sissy killing blow."

"Whoa! Did yuu diiiiie!?"

"Uhhh...sure kid—what am I saying!? Hell no, I didn't die! I'm invincible!" he declared in a valiant pose.

"Wow...I nevew thought that scaws could be so much fun!"

"Er..." it just occurred to him that the whole point of the conversation was the scar. "Sorry to bust your bubble kid, but scars are never a fun thing, you have to get a real painful booboo, a booboo so painful that it ain't gonna get better even after a hundred booboo-kiss."

He thought what he said was just to poke fun on the child to make him cover his eyes, but the thought scared Gabrielle, well enough to make him weep...just in time for Quistis to see. Talk about backfire.

"Seifer! What did you do this time?"

"I just taught him a word you never bothered to teach." Apparently, the sound of a whining child changed his mood.

"What?"

"Scars Quis...the idea of being hurt like shit one time in your life and never getting the privilege of totally healing yourself." His words sounded rather hash, but his tone had a hint of irony, an impression that it was meant for her to ponder deeply.

It took a brief second for her to react, a sense of offense burned in her and she had to say something hurtful back. "If you want to talk about scars, then leave Gabe out of it, he has no issues with you." She took the child's hand and left, but before they could step on the opposite side of the door, she turned back at him, "I suppose scars have reasons...they're meant to remind us of man's careless ignorance and stupidity every time we look in the mirror."

* * *

**o 0 o**

* * *

After a long hot shower to calm his fists from the sting of repeatedly punching a wall, a dormant olfactory nerve must've kicked in and he realized that his apartment was reeking in all kinds of filthy odours. With knuckles still swollen and red, he pat the towel all over his body then wrapped it around his waist before heading to the source of the wretched smell.

He had been living in his apartment for almost a week now, but it was the first time he actually considered the need to stock on cold beer. He knew this was not going to be the only night he would drink himself to sleep, not when he had to deal with Quistis for the next several months. With caution, he approached what seemed like a twenty or so year-old refrigerator. It was a pale cream five-foot frost box, which he thought had the possibility of containing chopped up body parts left by the last occupant. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pulled open the iron door.

Disgusting!

He made a hypothesis: on the previous owner's last defrosting, he had to hack at the ice floes with a cleaver.

Polar ice caps have formed on the face of the freezer, which he couldn't open without the aid of a blowtorch. When he peered into the chiller, it was full of processed meats that has mutated into a new specie just waiting for some sucker to yank the drawer open. The rest of the shelves were occupied by half-eaten sandwiches and restaurant leftovers from the first sorceress war. There was an entire stack of those little foil and plastic packs of butter which came from take-outs, and a thing which may have been an apple. And some unidentified species from cooking experiments, which has fossilized into oddly-shaped rocks that could serve as murder weapons. Tomato sauce the color of congealed blood, dried spaghetti like entrails at a crime scene. Mysterious organisms have colonized chunks of dry bread, offering not just proof of spontaneous generation, but possibly the next wave of biological warfare.

Before pushing the defrost button, he paused to consider the potential consequences of his action. To some it may seem like a simple household chore; to him it may be the unleashing of a biblical catastrophe.

_Hmmm…either that or a lifetime of uncold beer…not good._

He pushed the button. There was a soft rattle as the compressor shut down. Then the silence, a silence so profound he couldn't even hear the refrigerator humming.

Now, the waiting.

Maybe he should go out and get some beer while he was at it. Nah! He had a lot more cleaning to cover before he could rid himself of living in filth. Seeing that vile dump was good therapy, he had forgotten about Quistis, all he could think about was taking on the mildew. But before he could even pick up the rag he heard flapping wings, immediately he turned and saw a cockroach flying and bumping on the walls as it made its way across the room. His situation was a perfect example of the phrase: living in a dump. It took him exactly six steps to walk over to where the dirty pest landed.

The bathroom door was open. Inside, all was darkness. He stood just beside the doorframe, a grin swept on his face. The smell of isopropyl alcohol was in the air. He lit a match, and tossed it onto the bathroom floor. Immediately a mass of flame leaped up, he raised his arm in protective motion. A moment later, realizing that the flame was not at all violent to burn the forsaken apartment down, unfortunately, he lowered his arm and beheld something akin to a work of art. He had left his bathroom floor to bathe in disinfecting alcohol that morning, so much so that by the time he returned that night there were still bits of pools to light on fire.

He sprayed another cup or so of alcohol on the floor in the shape of his firecross. The pattern dramatically rendered by leaping, hungry flames. In the center of the flames, instead of a repentant psychopath practicing dark sorcery was a stunned cockroach that twitched as it was consumed by the hellish heat of the light. And, as if that were not enough to take in, there was an added effect: since the alcohol had streamed down the grooves between the tiles on the bathroom floor, the flames on the edges of the pattern flickered in haunting, grid-like formations. It was, for the lack of better adjectives, almost beautiful.

Seifer Almasy, a prime candidate for psychiatric consultation; had two conclusions at that very moment: matches plus alcohol equals (kinda) _fun_...and that he needed to get back at Quistis for what she said to him that morning. As the fuel for an insect's cremation ritual glowed to a dim and disappeared, he quickly dressed and left for Dollet square just before the clock struck midnight.

* * *

**o 0 o**

* * *

Burning that cockroach the other night must have had therapeutic effects as Seifer woke up to a tolerable morning. He even came in to work ten minutes early, which was a first for the record. The day lapsed pretty quick, and right at the end of his shift, he saw three very familiar people in front of the cafe. Quickly, he removed his black apron and approached Quistis who was then with Xu and her student.

"Here, try the new product I'm selling." He casually offered Quistis and Gabrielle each a piece of chocolate truffle.

Quistis gave her an odd stare, "you do realize that you are against company policy by doing a different job while on duty?"

"That's why I'm doing this right after my shift. Check the clock, it's 6 o'clock." He smugly answered, opening the box of chocolate and enticing them with it.

They simultaneously picked a piece, but the kid he was, his tiny hand managed to grab two extra pieces. Xu was left to stare at the two gobble a piece of heaven, and she felt like hell glaring at the devil who left her out of the treat.

"What about me!?" unable to hold herself from complaining.

"What actually qualifies you to deserve a free sample?"

She fluttered her lashes, "Can't a pretty lady have a free sample?"

"Sure she can!" he grinned, "too bad you're not."

Ack! He was playing with her, but it was his game so she unwillingly conceded to play along. "Can an ugly lady have a free sample then?" She begged with puppy eyes, opening her palm in front of his face.

"No, ugly ladies have to pay."

"Jerk!" She pushed him and grabbed a handful of delectable morsels from his basket.

"You're paying for that Ugly!" He retorted fixing the ruffle she made on his uniform.

"HA! Make me!" she dared running to the elevator and out of sight.

"This never ends, does it?" Quistis chuckled watching her friend flee.

"As long as she's alive, no."

"Ey! Seifew, I want another chocowate!" Gabrielle demanded, pulling him by the pants.

"I don't think so! You gotta buy em if you want another taste of these soft-sweet-rich-creamy chocolates." He was teasing the child's sweet tooth.

"I'll buy them all!" He screamed with sparkling eyes.

Seifer laughed hard in his head_, KA-CHING!_ "Hehehe...that'll be 4,000 Gil for ten boxes kiddo."

"But I onwy have this much wyt now!" He reached down his pants to reveal what was ever in his pocket, which summed up to seven thousand gil.

"This'll do!" Seifer grabbed the money without argue.

"YEY!" He squealed when he received the mountain of boxes and sprinted out the hall.

"I like that kid." Seifer grinned, giving Quistis a thumbs-up.

"You're giving Gabe his change back you crook." Her hands were akimbo when she gave him a mom-look.

"Nah, I'll just give him more boxes tomorrow. Besides, he doesn't need the cash like I do."

"As long as you don't resort to cheating him, then we're fine. By the way, how come you suddenly have all these boxes of chocolates?"

He stared up at the ceiling and scratched his nape, "I made a deal at the pub last night...the bartender told me I didn't have to pay my tab if I sell all twelve boxes."

"A bartender, selling a box of chocolates...now, how do expect me to believe that?" Of course she was sceptical, even if she didn't know what the man was up to the moment he leaves the hotel, a sudden unseifer-like event like him selling sweets seemed fishy.

"Seriously? Do I have to explain how he has a daughter who happens to be a junior bee scout and that he's helping her out by hooking me up because I drank more than I could pay last night? Or are you just gonna ask how I came to know about his daughter's issue?"

She saw his mood shift, so she conceded, "Geez Seifer, I don't care about your business outside this hotel. If what you say is true, then good for you."

"I saved the last box for you." He glumly mentioned, handing a box of chocolate he had hidden behind his back at her.

She was more sceptical than impressed. "Are you gonna make me pay for that?"

"Heck no! All it costs is for you to eat a piece right now. Consider this...my apology from last night's misconduct." He smirked charmingly as he tried to pull off a better expression.

"Can't it wait until after dinner?" Quistis suggested, breaking a bit of smile at what he was trying to do.

"No, I wanna see your facial expression when you eat the product."

"...Why?"

"Consumer research."

Two words managed to explain a lot, so she opened the lid and took the best looking of the bunch: a round truffle rolled in cocoa, drizzled with dark chocolate ganache and sprinkled with edible gold dust. She could see Seifer stretch out a smile when she took a bite. It was heaven...save for that slight rum-like familiar taste she associated with Aurora's potion, but beyond that, it was chocolate bliss.

The ecstasy on her face was obvious, the costumer was a satisfied 10. He made her look at him, her eyes seemed to have a different spark about it. He smiled, and she smiled back, almost dazed as they locked gaze. He inched closer obstructing her view from anything else but his face. She became flustered, she knew he was beyond her comfort distance, she waited to see if he would kiss her, wondering if he would, and thinking to herself if she should slap him or kiss him back if he did.

But he didn't, he simply turned away.

"Wow...you're one satisfied customer." He said taking a step back. "Let me know when you want another box." were his departing words.

Quistis watched him leave with a heart skipping in between beats. _Damn, that's not right..._

* * *

**o 0 o**

* * *

That night, all she could think about was his centimetre-close face in front of her, those deep green irises parted by the scar sliced between the bridge of his nose. There was something in his stare that made her think about him, over and over and over and over the whole night. Closing or opening her eyes didn't make much of a difference, his face never left her, and she was going nuts. She wanted...she wanted to kiss him. Because why in the world didn't he kiss her when she gave him a chance? The thought was unbearable, and it was making her restless. She stirred and looked at her clock.

_11:57 P.M._

Quistis quickly jumped out of bed and took her coat to cover the cotton pyjamas she was wearing. At that late night, it would only be a hassle to change into something formal. The empty halls didn't need to be impressed with silk gowns, it'd just shut up even if she walked around naked, but of course that wasn't an option. She took her wallet with her. She needed to purchase.

Passing by the same spot where Seifer had left her with an empty kiss, his face became even more vivid. She looked to the ground with balled fists and stormed out the hotel. The cool air relieved her tension, and she had a second to calm her nerves. Having a breathing exercise was a good idea to take her mind off things, Seifer's face in particular. Leisurely taking her time to approach Lady Aurora, she watched her gobble down a box full of chocolates.

Her eyes narrowed.

_Damnit!_

"What you got there Aurora?" she curiously asked, peeking through the old hag's all messed up hair. Apparently, she was enjoying herself too well.

The gobbling sound stopped and her head shot up almost giving Quistis a heart attack. "Want some?" she burped, revealing her chocolate-covered face. She managed to show her brown-gooey teeth and offer her loyal customer an almost empty box before grabbing another piece and launching it right in her oesophagus. She simply coughed her choke with a quick jab to the chest.

There were a lot of words to describe how Quistis felt at the sight, but it was summed up in four letters, "Ewww..."

"What'cha want bitch!?" she snorted as another chocolate ended its life under her crooked fangs.

"I have a question: did Seifer barter that box for a...say...love potion?"

"That's customer confidentiality."

She raised her brow and whispered to herself, "I knew it! That sneaky bastard." She took a five hundred paper bill from her wallet then handed it to Lady Aurora. "I need the anti-potion to whatever Seifer bought from you."

Her wrinkled hand briskly took the cash. "What makes you say I gave him my Love Potion 101 in exchange for these lovely little devils?" she interrogated, hugging the now empty box.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to mind. "If I give you another box, would you be more willing cooperate?"

"AcK! YES!" At that, her purple eyes twinkled with excitement. "A box will surely cut the deal."

"Then wait here, I'll go get one." Quistis sprinted to her room at her word.

_12:42 A.M._

She was sure she heard Seifer scream.

* * *

**o 0 o**

* * *

SNEAK PREVIEW:

* * *

The Parable of the Good Sorceress

Chapter 7

"Hey you look really cute!" Rinoa wheezed, pinching Gabe's red cheeks, "Ten more years and I say you're gonna be really hot!"

He pushed her hand away from his face and gave her a weird look. "Hey, lady, aw yuu hittin' on meee?"

Everyone had a grand time laughing their asses off at that statement.

He didn't grasp the concept of his own joke, so he turned his attention to another unfamiliar soul and noticed the scar on the man's face. "So yow Skwall?"

"...yeah...how did you know my name?"

"Seifew says you're a weally bad man who scweems like a girl!"

"Er...that's not true."

"IT IS!" he claimed, like he knew better. "You have that scaw just like him! He says you use that to control childwen's minds!"

"Did he?" he gave Seifer a cold look.

"What can I say? The kid's got imagination. You're the evil monster, and I'm the knight in shining armor." He laughed.

"And what does that make me?" Rinoa asked, butting in the conversation she can't help but overhear.

"The Evil Witch Bride of course!" he laughed even more.

* * *

A/N: I KNOW! It's been seven months since my last update and I've been going really slow with making this fic...but at least just 5 more years and this fic will be done! Kidding...I'll get a move on the next chapter as soon as I could...soon.


	7. The Parable of the Good Sorceress

**The Parable of the Good Sorceress**

Chapter 7

* * *

It took Seifer a month before he got his first paycheck, and damn did he feel good. His first order of business: to buy himself a mattress in replace of the toilet paper-covered-plywood bed he had been sleeping on for the past four weeks. Upon realizing that his apartment didn't come with a bed, he knew at once the place was overpriced despite the fact that he was paying a meagrely 1250gil a month. At least he finally found a use for 90 rolls of toilet paper besides wiping his ass. What he did to survive and maintained the patience to do it was beyond any comprehension that it could only be labelled as a miracle that he made it the long.

The next order of priority was to purchase a collection of bug spray, one so potent that he wouldn't mind if his neighbours dies in the event of his anti-insect campaign. His bills and rental could wait, it was not his concern...besides, he could always threaten the landlord with his shiny little gunblade.

Right before he left for his shift at the hotel the next morning he made sure he had six cans of insect killer emptied. The bathroom alone took one can to cover up every nook and cranny where pests had been cultivating their young to be the next wave of nuisance-life-forms. With a 10-hour shift, he estimated that the Marlboro-like stench of the toxic chemical would be gone by the time he returned. He impressed himself with his logic, he was certain that he'd be coming back to an insect-free apartment because as he was about to leave the festering things were crawling out all over the place, either struggling to escape the plague or dying before his very eyes. It was a comforting sight to behold.

Leaving a little early for work, he had time to wander around his temporary neighbourhood. It was a quiet Friday morning, late autumn, gorgeous weather. People were having drinks in the sidewalk cafes or walking their dog. It's been over a month since Seifer has settled down in what he has yet to call home, somehow he knew it'd never be the place he wanted to live forever. He always knew in his heart that there will only be one town he will find himself living in for the next fifty or so years. Gazing into the horizon of the ocean, he saw a vessel with the emblem of Balamb, immediately he knew he would be in for a treat. He hurried his steps and was surprised to find Quistis quietly waiting on the dock, her arms akimbo.

"They're here," she smiled the moment Seifer stood beside her.

"Who's here?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Rinoa and Squall will be here for a quick mission," she replied.

"You have your ways of forgetting things, don't ya?" Dumfounded at how she didn't tell him even if she didn't have to, he was rather pissed at how she let this certain information slip off. He felt like his presence in her life was being taken for granted, and he hated it—A LOT.

She looked at him and crossed her arms, "don't you have work?"

"At least let me welcome our guests Ms. Trepe."

"Fine, but don't drag me as an excuse for your tardiness!" she nagged turning away.

They watched as the latest model of Balamb Garden's assault gunboat quickly made its way over the waves. It rippled clear the sand coast at touchdown making for quite an entrance despite their non-violent intentions.

"Great, the wicked witch is in town." He smirked at his own joke the moment he saw Rinoa emerged from the vessel.

"Seifer!" Rinoa jumped to her feet and ran to Seifer for a quick hug. "I haven't seen you in forever! Where have you been!?"

He should've hugged her, but he didn't feel the urge to be so friendly, instead he just tapped her back then took a step back. "While you were cooped up in your evil lair, I was out on an adventure to slay you evil minions." At least his sarcasm seemed friendly. Besides, he was sure Quistis was eagerly watching what his reaction would be towards Rinoa's actions.

"Whatever!"

"I can see that Puberty Boy's expression has gotten the best of you."

She ignored him this time and turned to Quistis expecting for a better welcome, "hey Quisty! I've missed you so much!"

Quistis beamed and hugged her back, "I'm happy to see you as well. I thought you were gonna bring baby Julia along?"

She stiffened, "OH CRAP!" and went running back to the vessel.

"Who the heck is baby Julia!?" Seifer looked at Quistis expecting an answer, but it came right out the boat when Squall emerged cradling in his arms a little baby girl. She had jet black hair and big green round eyes, a trait she got from Laguna Loire. Though Squall was a bit horrified to see that she was almost the feminine rendition of his father, he was just happy that she was born healthy. He looked at Squall and suspected that he was there for a mission, as he did not appear to be in holiday mood. He looked tired, jet-lagged, and slightly pissed, a perfect opportunity for Seifer to aggravate him further. "You gotta be kiddin' me!" He approached her with the same level of shock and curiosity.

"Hey," Squall made a cute gesture by picking up his daughter's hand and waving it at Seifer and Quistis. The baby chuckled when he did.

"Hi baby!" Quistis was enthusiastic at picking her off her father's arms and cuddling her with soft pinches and kisses.

"Thanks," the new father gave her a half-smile. "I'm off to the Communications Tower now. I'll catch you back at the hotel after the mission." He bid farewell to his family with a kiss on the forehead, while a pat on the shoulder to his old comrades.

"That's it!? No small talk whatsoever?" Seifer was rather disappointed at Squall's hurry.

He turned back one last time and said, "I'm running late on this mission. We can hug later."

"Tsk!" He frowned.

"Wow, I've never seen her so behaved!" Rinoa was impressed at how her baby quietly lay still as Quistis cradled her.

"That's because she knows that this girl doesn't tolerate a naughty behaviour!" Seifer kidded, suddenly slapping Quistis' butt before running off to a safe distance. "I'm out, no fun without a puberty boy hangin' around...I'll be at the hotel." He may be running late, but slapping that soft round piece of bum made it all worth it.

"Smart move Almasy, but you're not getting away with that one!" She yelled with a shocked reaction on her face. Smart move indeed, but stupid. By the time she turned to Rinoa, the girl's stare was already obviously full of thrill, "there's nothing between us, if that's what you're implying."

"Is that's all you have to say?!" she complained, unconvinced.

"Let's not ruin my day by talking about him, okay?"

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

Back at the hotel, the two girls and the baby hung in the cafe, sitting close to the bar where Seifer was busily brewing the first batch of coffee. It was early morning and a weekday, so there were no customers at that hour. They happily tried to catch up with the current situation of their lives. Apparently, Rinoa, stressed about being a first-time mom avoided the baby questions and got down to more interesting stuff—like gossip.

"I heard rumours that he was here, that's why I had to come and see for myself," she teased, secretly pointing her lips to where Seifer stood.

Quistis shook her head and leaned her temple against her palm, "why is his presence becoming such a big deal?"

"Because everyone is giddy about your loveteam...everyone needs to know what's going on and what gonna happen from here."

"Seriously, I think it's nonsense," she sighed.

Seifer saw Quistis' troubled look, so bringing along two cups of latte to disguise his intentions, he sat on their table to investigate. "What's up?"

She looked at him and raised a brow, "the repeat of a nightmare I had completely forgotten."

"And how sure are you that it's a nightmare and not some beautiful fantasy?" He raised his brow back at her.

Rinoa felt jitters around her spine as the two gave each other piercing stares. The two still had an unbelievably squeal-full chemistry even after all these years. Their chemistry had always been easy and unforced. "You guys do realize that gossips can cross oceans, and by that I mean I heard. I know what's going on, so you don't have to explain anything."

"Oh really? Tell me then, what do you think is goin' on?" he dared, whether she was clueless or not at the real situation, he knew she had something to say.

"Well for starters, I know you're here because of Quistis. I know you're trying to woo her again because you want her back. But then again let's not forget the super genius scientist that she has for a boyfriend...and so knowing that he's not around to get in your way, you're taking this opportunity to steal his girl and make her fall madly-deeply-head-over-heels in love with you. I know you regret leaving her and that you want to go steady with her this time because you're still in love with her after all these years." The more she spoke, the bigger her smile was. "So, what'd ya think about my little theory?"

He laughed and kissed Quistis' hand. She drew it back and rubbed it with her other hand in abhorrence. "There's nothing to tell really, much like how we decided to keep it silent with what happened between us a very long time ago." He winked at Rinoa, whom he dated a long way back, a disaster neither of them refers to. He stuck out his tongue the second after. Even he was grossed out at the thought.

"Eeewww! Please, for my child's sake don't ever say that again!" Rinoa had to scratch her arms off to rid the goose bumps she got from what he said.

It made Quistis giggle and feel even more awkward.

"I still can't believe you're a mommy now," Seifer commended as he gazed at the little angel snugly asleep in her stroller.

"Yeah...me too...eleven months, and I still can't believe it sometimes."

Seifer watched Rinoa's delighted expression, turned to Quistis and found her face sombre. He became deeply troubled by how her smile at the child almost looked envious and longing. He knew that face...she had said it before...he could clearly remember how she mentioned she wanted her own baby by the time she turned twenty-five. Now she was twenty-six and broken-hearted. He couldn't stop himself from wanting to console her, so he placed his hand on top of hers and smiled. She stared at him with a very small beam then looked toward the windowsill.

Rinoa didn't even notice the romance that just transpired, she was busy digging down her baby bag. "And since it seems like you two are doing okay, I thought I should return this to you." She took out an old journal the size of a typical notebook. "Xu gave this to me a few years back for safe keeping because...I'm not really sure why—but swear I didn't read it!" She was about to hand Quistis the journal when a hand flashed between them and swept the thing off her grip.

"HOLY MOTHERFUCKER SHIT OF A THING!" Xu's face was indescribable as she held the journal like a gold brick. Everyone was flabbergasted at her sudden apparition. "I thought I told you to burn this thing when you get to the Fire Cavern!" she angrily barked at Rinoa, pointing a very furious finger at her.

Wide-eyed, she spaced out a bit. "Ohhh...so that's what I was supposed to do that day. Guess I forgot!"

Quistis stood up to get closer to what Xu was holding in her arms. She could recognize from the peach floral cover, it was hers. "Is that my journal?"

"Trust me, you don't want this back." The petite's face was miserable and pleading. She refused to hand her back the journal.

"And why not?" Quistis raised an accusing brow, "you read my journal, didn't you?"

"Hell no!" she defensively yelled, "but what I do know is the year that this thing was written. This is the year the bastard Almasy left you!" She pointed harshly at Seifer who immediately hurried back to his station upon her words. Guilty bastard. "Just trust me on this one. You'll not gonna like what's written here."

But she held her ground because that was the only means to answer all of her unanswered questions. It was the clue she had been wanting to find as an affirmation to all of Seifer's claims...this was the only way to regain her lost memories. "I think I want that back...I need some answers right now."

Seifer quietly listened to their exchange of words. He chose not to get involved just on that occasion. It was a sensitive matter involving his reputation and future intentions with his ex-lover. He washed the dirty cups instead.

"Xu, I'm serious...give me back my journal or I'll force it out of your hand." Her threat did not come out joking.

"Fine...but under one condition—you'll thank me for this!" And without warning, she opened the journal then in all haste, tore clear the last twenty or so pages of the binding. "I can't let you be miserable again, so this is for your own good." She hurled the journal at Quistis then left as quick as she appeared.

"I can't believe that girl." She sat back on her seat with her scanning the pages of her journal. "Sometimes she just doesn't know where to stop. I know she's my best friend, but she needs to know there's a limit when it comes to my privacy." Quistis was rather pissed when she turned to Rinoa.

She was frantic at how the blonde was staring at her. "Really, I swear I didn't even look at a single page of that thing. I kept it under my closet and had forgotten it for years...I just found it last night when I packed my things for this trip." Then out of the blue she repeatedly slapped her forehead. "CRAP! I forgot to tell Xu that Headmaster Cid wants her back in the Garden. She's been missing so many classes now, her poor students have to endure Squall as her substitute."

There was a sort of growl to her breathing. It was the first time she heard Quistis snoring awake. She still wasn't too happy with Xu. The odd silence made Rinoa uneasy so she went to bother her innocent child instead.

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

It was close to three o'clock that afternoon when Quistis, together with her pupil, caught the couple with their child and Seifer making a fuss in the cafe. Forty winks and a shot of vodka had calmed her nerves so they entered the glass door hoping to join in on the conversation, at the same time introduce Gabe to her friends.

"By the way, honey, I got this for you!" Rinoa seemed more excited than Squall, "HURRY! Open it!" handing out a big yellow paper bag to her now-husband.

He tore open the package and took out colourful striped scarf bursting of sunkist orange, apple green, bright yellow and hot pink. He could feel rashes beginning to spread over his arms. He squinted at the overly glowing neon colours.

"It's sooo cute!" Seifer squealed...of course it was sarcasm.

"Was this gift supposed to be for me...or you bought this for yourself?" he crosschecked, just in case she made an error.

"You don't like it?" she moped.

Apparently, the error was the choice.

"No, it's cool." He lied, quickly wrapping the night reflector around his neck. Immediately, he felt the urge remove it and lock it away in the depths of his closet.

The three noticed the two when they heard them laugh. Seifer waved at them to recognize their presence, while Squall gave them a weak smile—still unhappy about his wife's present. Rinoa, frightened of an un-caffeinated Quistis turned to the less threatening face of the two.

"Hey you look really cute!" Rinoa wheezed, pinching Gabe's red cheeks. "Ten more years and I say you're gonna be really hot!"

He pushed her hand away from his face and gave her a weird look. "Hey, wady, aw yuu hittin' on meee?"

Everyone had a grand time laughing their asses off at that statement.

He didn't grasp the concept of his own joke, so he turned his attention to another unfamiliar soul and noticed the scar on the man's face. "So yow Skwall?"

"...Yeah...how did you know my name?"

"Seifew says you're a weally bad man who scweems like a girl!"

"Er...that's not true."

"IT IS!" he claimed, like he knew better. "You have that scaw just like him! He says you use that to control childwen's minds!"

"Did he?" He gave Seifer a cold look.

"What can I say? The kid's got imagination. You're the evil monster, and I'm the knight in shining armour." He laughed.

"And what does that make me?" Rinoa asked, butting in the conversation she can't help but be a part of.

"The Evil Witch Bride of course!" He laughed even more.

She punched his shoulder, "Jerk!"

"HEEEEY! She said a bad word!" Gabe suddenly exclaimed, pointing harshly at Rinoa. "She IS evil!"

There were four reactions to that statement:

Seifer cracked to his belly with unbelievable chortles.

Rinoa sulked.

A scolding from Quistis, "Gabrielle, that's not a very nice thing to say!"

And guess who said, "Whatever..."

Jessica, overhearing the commotion, dragged the child out of the room, "Alright, shows over, I'm giving you a bath!"

They heard screaming and breaking of vases outside the hallway. With the comedy subsiding to mellow giggles, Squall picked up their bags and hoped that his wife would take it as a hint that he wanted to go back to the Garden now. Apparently, Rinoa chose to ignore the gesture and went on to chat with Quistis in the hopes that she had forgiven her from her big blooper earlier that day. Ten more minutes passed and Squall's hair had turned grey, so he harshly cleared his throat and gave Rinoa a wide-eyed stare simply because he had a mission report due by six o'clock that night.

"Alright! Alright! Geez...at least let me say goodbye." Rinoa was annoyed as he was. "Well...it was nice seeing you two after like forever, especially you Seifer. Come and visit us in the Garden next time, okay? Everyone's waiting to see you guys back...they all miss you," she said giving them both big hugs. She then took her baby out of the stroller and had her kiss Seifer on the cheek. His pride melted as his smile reached from cheek to cheek upon the touch of the baby's wet kiss. When it was Quistis' turn, she couldn't resist holding the baby's tiny body that she took her from Rinoa's arms and cuddled her plump face with butterfly kisses before saying goodbye.

Squall, after finally getting his plea answered, smiled at them and said, "We'll be waiting for you in Balamb."

They watched as the young family left the room. At the shut of the door, they heard baby Julia's sudden wailing followed by Rinoa's outburst of frustrations. A word was never heard from the father.

"Poor child," Seifer gagged.

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

It was close to Quistis' bedtime when she heard three knocks times three on the door. She was expecting Xu to drop by sometime that night to plead for her forgiveness. The journal she had torn that morning was on Quistis' desk opened somewhere in the middle. She had been scanning random pages, some days she deemed familiar, but others she couldn't even begin to imagine was possible—the ones she wrote about Seifer in particular. She cannot believe she wrote romantic nights spent with him, some of which were openly detailed. On one occasion, she laid the book spine down on a flat surface and let it fall open by itself. It opened to the most-read page of the journal, the page that had been reviewed so often, the binding has cracked on the exact spot. It was about how Seifer declared their love in front of the Garden, on stage, of the play The Beauty and the Beast where they were lead cast. Of course, it was crap. Her writing went all gooey-lovey-dovey-teenager-like after being so impassioned with this thing called love. She tore the pages into bits, tore the bits into smaller bits, and threw them all away. And even though she was perfectly aware that Xu had done no wrong because tearing pages off her journal was completely understandable now, she was still in the mood to make her best friend look miserable. Before opening the door, she made sure her expression was not a happy mood. With a face looking unkind, she cracked open the door and immediately raised an angry brow, topping it off with an irate "What!?"

Seifer, unaware of her intention was taken aback by her unflattering disposition. "Shit! What'd I do?"

Seeing that it was not her offender embarrassed her...sort of...but not really, because it was Seifer. But then again, knowing now that what he had been claiming were true as inscribed in her own writing, she was rendered to an awkward state of silence. Her impression of the man had changed in a span of a few passionate pages. Darkness had saved her from revealing the red tint that had curdled up her cheeks.

Sensing the sudden unease in her stance, he took it as a cue to explaining himself about his presence. "Hey, listen...I kinda need a favour right now." He looked to the ceiling and scratched his nape, an obviously embarrassed move. "Ya see, I have a horrible insect infestation in my room right now, most of them dead...but the poison is as fresh as the air in here 'cause I used a lot'a bug spray this morning. Thought the smell will be gone by the time I get back, but it seems like my neighbours are all dead as well because of the toxin and I don't wanna join them in hell. Kinda stupid of me, huh?"

"Your words, not mine." Hearing what he had to say made her ease up a bit that she even managed to smile.

"So, can I stay here for the night?"

It took a few seconds of thought, but then she moved out of the way to grant him entrance. "I suppose, if it's just for tonight."

"Well that depends on when the smell of the poison leaves my room." Immediately his confidence built up the moment she made him step in. "So do I take the couch, or do you want to snuggle?"

Tracing his steps with her stare, she folded her arms right when he sat on her bed. "Good to know you feel right at home."

"Nah, I'm just tryin' to ease the tension...you seem kinda grumpy, what's up?" He stood back up, made a few swinging steps to hunt the cause of her edgy mood. His eyes surveyed the room, then smirked when he caught sight of the infamous journal lay open on her desk. He came close, but Quistis was quick on her feet, snatching it off the table before he could even glimpse a sensible word.

"That's not for you!" She glared at him, but her face had a hint of salmon hue.

Quistis' face made his smirk grow wider. That face gave him a clue, and there was nothing else he wanted more than to make her salmon face turn ketchup red. "Why not? Is it because you wrote explicit details of our sexcapades?" He pinned her against the wall, "Glad to know you're now aware of...our situation."

She pushed him by the chest but she could not budge him off, her palm remained flat on his chest as she gulped, "This is a little too close for me..."

His lips twitched a smile. Inching his face closer, "I think you now have a clue of how much closer we got back then."

It's been so long since a man had violated her because even the genius of a boyfriend she got was such a gentleman that he would immediately behave whenever she said no. On the contrary, Seifer was the embodiment of the word rebel, so even if her stare was enough to melt iron his interpretation of it was Quistis being playful. She didn't know what to do with him, let alone react. "Can you not joke like that? It's not very funny..." she entreated with a frightened face.

"Who says I was kidding?" He was too close to back down now. That face she made was so alluringly beautiful it would be a sin not to touch it. Unable to hold in his urge, he swooped in his face and managed to steal a quick taste of her lips. That fraction of a second, when he felt the contact of her lips, an electrifying wave of impulses rushed through him almost impairing him from all his senses save for that overpowering sensation of shock and elation. She was dumbfounded with his gesture, but he was even more astonished by how wonderful he was feeling by that kiss. Her lips were probably, no, undoubtedly the best thing he ever tasted in years: softer than butter, and sweeter than cherries.

He had to kiss her again!

He advanced to have another taste of those sweet lips of hers, but she drew back and managed to push him off this time.

"The hell Seifer! Who ever gave you the authority to harass me like that!?"

He gave her a smug gaze. He failed on his attempt, but he was getting his kiss one way or the other. Maybe not tonight, but surely not long after tomorrow.

"Do one more stupid thing and I'll kick you out the window!"

He couldn't blame the fact that he was wholeheartedly making it a point to misinterpret the kind gestures shown to him. That was his way of being a rebel. "Oh c'mon...I'm starting to think that you're scared to know how far down we got back then." His eyes went down and landed between her thighs.

"Staring at my groin is one way of getting yours kicked." But his eyes never left, so her sentence jumped up and smacked him in the eye. "Did that hurt?"

"Yes, dammit," he admitted falling back on her bed. It was painful enough to render him silent for the next minute.

"Good, you deserve it." She grabbed him by the collar then with all her might pulled him up and threw him to the couch. He toppled down on his way to hitting the cushioned armrest. She huffed, exhausted by the weight of the man. "Quit this bullcrap you're doing and get to sleep, we have work in the morning!" She threw at him a pillow and a blanket, hard.

"No we don't, it's Saturday tomorrow."

"JUST...sleep!"

Knowing that the tension between them had escalated into a dangerous territory, he held caution to the possibility of being kicked out of her room. The moment Quistis' words turn into physical executions, he had to lay low else the argument would turn into a cold war, a war he never won because getting a silent treatment from Quistis for days on end was the most unbearable test of endurance, always. There was nothing he wanted more than for the sleepover to turn into something meaningful, and that kiss was the icing on the cake. He may have gotten a black eye that night, but at least he won. He made amusing sniggering noises as he fixed himself comfortably on her couch that was many inches shorter than his limbs. With his head nestled on one side of the armrest, his feet suspended up on its opposite end. He waited for Quistis to turn off the light before saying, "You know, for once I'm grateful for that bitch Xu, because of her indecision of throwing out your journal ya now think what I say is true. Let's not forget the good sorceress Rinoa as well...if it wasn't for her unorganized thinking, you'd still think I'm crazy."

"I still think you're crazy."

"Let's just call me...foolish, but I think it's worth it."

"This is a very strange reality to face," she mumbled after a long dead air.

He turned to his side and could see that she was looking back at him. "There's nothing to prove anymore...thanks to a Sorceress and a bitch. You now know exactly what you need to know."

"Well...not all...those pages she tore off this morning would've answered the more important questions."

"Like?"

She hesitated, but said it anyway, "Like why our relationship ended...if it was so perfect, how come it didn't work out?"

There was another long silence. "You were ready for a settled life while I...I wasn't prepared for the life that you wanted for us." He sat up, knelt on her bedside, leaned in closer and whispered, "I admit. I got scared."

She watched his face in the darkness and saw his distress in the shadows. She wanted to console him, but she was numb and couldn't feel any sympathy nor longing to give him hope that he had a chance to take her back. The potion she drank crossed her mind, and she knew immediately that false-hope was the last thing she wanted him to feel. She was well aware of the situation now, that while they were in this supposed bizarre contract, he was feeling the burden of this terrible circumstance. It was a sad-pathetic thing to be him and she knew that now. "Thank you, for telling me that...even if you didn't have to say it."

He knocked his head on her pillow, their faces inching in closer again, but this time their lips got close, very close...but that was the moment, their moment: the prelude to a kiss. He was intently looking at her, his eyes lingering on his own reflection in her cerulean spheres. His lips hovered so close that he felt her warmth breathing on his skin.

Just as their lips were about to press, the moment was over. "Goodnight...Seifer," she murmured to his lips before turning away to the other side of the bed.

Their faces were a reflection of the other, distressed. The feeling went beyond the boundaries of discomfort...it was upsetting.


	8. In-Laws and Outlaws

A/N: After being absent for several months, I owe you at least one lengthy chapter to make up for lost time. I told ya I'm working on it.

* * *

**In-Laws and Outlaws**

Chapter 8

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

_We all raced to the finish line._

_Everyone had their reasons._

_Mine?_

_I cannot marry Seifer._

_In the end, we won…_

_an engagement ring_.

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

Comfortably seated on Dollet's private vessel at dawn, Seifer and Quistis were on their return trip to Dollet after an overnight stay at Balamb Garden for baby Julia's first birthday. So much has changed, so many faces were but strangers, yet the place had always been familiar. As expected, a lot of fuss came about the moment they stepped in the campus together. The stares, the whispers, the hidden cameras—the scandal! Seifer had it coming, a horde of angry stares from the older students while dreamy wheezes from the younger female cadets. Quistis had to brace herself with tons of questions, the top two being: Are you coming back to teach in the Garden? And, are you two back together? Both she easily denied and dismissed as petty rumours. Apparently, there were still a few Trepe Groupies left even after she was gone for almost four years...and apparently, there were still haters for the Almasy.

Despite all the commotions of the party, a frantic Rinoa, a super-hyper-party-planner Selphie, and an Irvine-Zell clown duo, it was good fun—except for the birthday girl who was as sleepy as her father that day. The highlight was the end of it, when people no longer had to pretend they enjoy the screams of a rowdy flock of hyperactive kids all wanting a slice of the birthday cake and to pull the clown's hair. Well...the hair pulling part was great fun, but it got sad after Zell began gobbling their cakes in vengeance.

When the boat reached Dollet's dock Seifer was still contemplating on the question Edea asked him when she saw them together: "What are you trying to prove?" The question was left unanswered as he choked on the cherry and the focus was on the Heimlich manoeuvre the second after. But more than the question, he was disturbed by how his beloved Matron stared at him, a sort of ire lingered just beneath her stare. Although she covered all that with a smile, he somehow knew it was forced. He was stiff the entire time they were talking. He took precaution to the cold air she was sending him so he did not ask for an explanation. It hurt him, the indifference she unwillingly showed him; the painful part was that he never knew the fault.

"We're here," he heard Quistis speak. She had to hit him to react. "Are you coming?"

He looked up to see her standing on the boat's edge with the wind whipping her hair and the high sun shaping her curves into a silhouette. He stared at her for a moment and noticed her a lot slimmer than their first encounter. He unconsciously grinned, mesmerized. "Yeah…."

Quietly walking on the dock, it was the part where Seifer was supposed to compliment her on her new figure, but she cut him off from the thought, "That was fun, I'm glad you decided to come."

"Of course, I gave the Sorceress my word. Who knows what voodoo she'd do to me if I didn't go?"

She folded her arms, giggling, "I think she'd go for your hair." She reached out to rub his spiky hair, which has grown twice as long since that faithful day at the barbers.

"Hey!" He vigorously shook his head to make her let go. Although it may not look like it, but just like other men, he was conscious about his hair. He didn't want people messing around with it, even Quistis knew that now. It was because of his towering height that not many get to pat him on the head, but more than that, because he was Seifer no one pats his head thus they were not aware he cared too much about what grows on his head. "You're no longer allowed to touch my hair since you caused this mess!" he sneered brushing his hand across this scalp as if to fix whatever hair strayed off his half-inch-long hair.

"Hey! You were already a mess when I saw you."

"But you made is worse!"

"I've apologized a dozen times, can't you just let it go?" she retorted, guilty.

"Not until I'm happy seeing my face in the mirror."

"You're hopeless," she sighed. "I'm going back the hotel. You too should get on home and apply some growing formula on your head, for your hair and mental development."

It took her three steps the opposite direction before he blurted, "Come to the apartment later, will ya? You still owe me lots of favours because of what you did to my hair."

"And why would I do that? Your apartment is filthy and I might die from all the bug spray you inject the air."

He persisted, "just come, alright? I want you to meet someone."

She sighed, "Why?"

"Because I want you to meet her as much as I want her to meet you," he replied giving her his signature smirk.

Those words and that smirk sealed the deal. She suddenly nodded and became a sucker without her knowing.

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

She was supposed to knock on the door, but saw it open so she went right in with a bag of groceries. "Hey, when I told Duke I was coming here he asked me to give you these because he's been receiving a lot of complaints regarding you stealing a portion of everyone's lunches just so you don't have to buy your own." She placed the heavy bag on his table and crossed her arms. "You know, if you're so keen about saving up then I don't mind sharing my lunch with you once in a while. I'm just concerned that other employees are not that well off to actually volunteer to feed you every day. A little consideration on your part would be nice." She looked at him looking at her, dazed. "I bought you some local vegetables and fresh fish. I also passed by the butcher to grab you a few chunks of cockatrice breasts and anacondaur fillets. I can help you with the cooking if you want. Steak and buttered greens sounds nice, don't you think?" She noticed his expression never changed the moment she walked in. "You know, you're awfully quiet. It's either you're very interested or simply drifting off."

It took him approximately fifteen seconds to react, "Huh?"

She pressed her temple as she shook her head, "Seriously? What am I gonna do with you?"

He rubbed his face and slapped his cheeks left and right. "I need a favour."

"What is it this time?" Her eyes rolled in annoyance as his favours seem to come day after day.

"Remember what I said about letting you meet someone? Well she's actually my adopted mom in Winhill. I thought she was comin' alone but then I realized that she's bringing along her whiny daughter who she eagerly wants me to marry. Ya see the thing is, I really can't say no to her because she's done a lot for me, but I ain't marrying her creepy daughter either." He managed to explain it all in one breath.

"I know it's none of my business to ask, but sensing that I will be involved in the situation, at least tell me why."

There was a brief pause between her question and his answer, "because she ain't the one." Seifer had to look away to tell her that.

"The one?" she played dumb just to fish some cheesy words from him simply because she knew how much he hated it.

"Are you sure you want me to answer that?"

"Try me," she dared.

He stood up, came very close to her face and crooned, "Because she ain't you."

That was uncalled for. She was so convinced he'd say something stupid—well actually, he just did. But beside the point of the statement was how he stared at her as he said it, it made his intentions seem almost convincing that she felt the hair in her arms raise. "Very funny Seifer…you just love teasing me don't you?" she sniggered blushing.

"How serious does my face have to get for you to believe that what I'm saying isn't a joke? You want me to prove it to ya?"

That was a dangerous question to answer and a very risky topic to pursue. She had to think fast. "What was your favour again?" was all she could come up with.

He hung his head low to show his displease. But quickly he shot himself back up and said, "I need you to convince them we're engaged."

"NO! That's easier said than done…besides, you're just gonna complicate things. Or did you forget we have a contract due with Duke?" Her face became stern, and she wasn't happy.

"C'mon, it's not that hard to pretend we're in love. I know that deep down you know you feel something for me no matter how many potions you drink. The contract can wait for all I care! The only thing that matters now is that I can't give them a reason to leave you for someone else…because there really is no one else." He said with a wink attached to the end of the statement.

"Very funny," she said, partly chuckling, partly looking at him with hesitation, waiting to see when he might say it was all a joke.

"You're scared I might not be kidding," he figured when she gave him that look.

"Of course you are, why else would you say that?"

"Because I'm serious, I need you to make them believe that we're getting married."

"Why!?"

"I already told ya, I want Aven off my back, and you're the one woman they know I'm serious about." He cleared his throat, mumbling, "They kinda know who you are."

"And they know me, how?"

"Quit stalling, and just wear a ring or somethin' because I need to introduce you to them the moment they get here."

She groaned, "Well, this is what I'm wearing right now so you'll have to settle for this." She extended her hand to show him a sapphire ring on her right ring finger, the same ring they won on the Couple's Amazing Race a long time ago, and the very one he gave her on the night he declared his love for her onstage. "And lucky for you I wore this today as I normally don't wear one."

Seeing that she kept it made him smile in flattery, "You still have that?"

"Of course, this is a special ring," she replied with the same wide smile. "Matron gave me this."

His smile turned upside-down, "The hell are you talkin' about? I gave you that!"

She gave him a weird-surprised look, "Of course you didn't, why would you give me one? Unless…" she bit her tongue. Even she could not fathom her speculation; she simply felt her heart leap at the thought.

"We won it at a contest," he grunted. He took the ring off her finger and placed it on her palm. "Ya know, I once inserted this on your left ring finger, a long time ago. And right now there's nothing that could please me more than to see you wear it again."

How could she deny his request? It was as simple favour, but of course, she knew it would mean something bigger if she granted him luxury of being openly willing to obey his command. She gave him a disgruntled look and pretended to be unenthusiastic about the idea. "Fine."

"Great, now put it on," he instructed with a grin.

"Well, that was unromantic. No wonder I broke up with you," she nagged.

Knowing what she meant, he grabbed the ring off her hand, knelt down on one knee, stared at her straight in the eyes and spoke in his most amorous tone, "I promise to be a good fiancée for the next few days, to love you with all my heart, with all my soul, and my whole being. Quistis Trepe, it would mean the world to me if you wear this ring and be my pretend bride-to-be," he softly spoke as he inserted the ring in her finger.

Even if she knew he was being sarcastic, just seeing what he did made the woman in her squeal. She felt herself blushing when he placed the ring in her finger, but she did manage to gag, "as long we're not getting married."

That said, he stood up to his feet and kissed her in one sweeping motion, just in time for Aven and his adopted mother to barge in his door and see. There was a brief suspended second, but then Laelia's anticipation to hug him eased out the moment, but not for Quistis and Aven who stood still awkwardly staring at each other.

"Seifer! I missed you!" Laelia yelped as she bear hugged him in her big flabby arms, the kind of arms that could make Seifer gasp for air. "I was so worried when I heard an old crazy fortune teller harassed you, so I immediately packed up my bags and brought Aven along to bring you back home," she cried with apparent worry as she dangled Seifer left and right in her motherly arms.

"Great to see you too Laelia," he wheezed, trying to free himself from her clutch. "But where the heck did you get the whole harass thing!?"

"What did I say about you calling me mom!? Anyway, I got a postcard from someone named Xu...says you should go back to Winhill because you're miserable here."

"Why the hell did you trust a liar and a prick!?"

"Oh Seifer, why do you insist on staying here under terrible conditions?" she ranted with her arms held high in dramatic fashion. "Look at you! You've lost at least five pounds since I last saw you! And you even lost all your beautiful hair! You should pack your bags and come home with us."

"Nah, I'm fine right here!" Trying to get away from the situation, he quickly grabbed Quistis and said, "I can't go back because the woman I'm marrying lives here."

Laelia and Aven's eyes widened with shock and they had to pick their jaws off the floor. The latter's eyes glistened with tears as the former was quick to smack him with a bag of vegetables. "You insolent-good-for-nothing child! How can you suddenly be engaged when Aven has been waiting for years for you to make a move!?" She repeatedly smacked him as she spoke. "I brought her all the way here because I thought you've finally decided to settle down and this—THIS is what I see!?" Her attention suddenly shifted to Quistis as she circled her, eyeing every flaw she could find that might convince her she was not as perfect as her little walnut-haired daughter. However, it was like comparing the beauty of a poppy to a rose; a pug to a husky; burlap to a lace. She eventually gave up on making comparisons because the thought was degrading to her gene pool. When she realized that the woman she was preying on was way beyond her own standards of beauty, she knew she was fighting a losing battle, so instead she asked, "Who is she?"

To introduce a woman with such high calibre, he was more than proud to say her name. "Laelia, Aven, I want you to meet Quistis Trepe…the woman I've been longing to marry all these years." Quistis went stiff with his claim, so he kissed her on the cheeks just to make things worse. "Now that I found her, I'm makin' sure I'm marrying her."

"Quistis?" Laelia paused to think. It wasn't the first time she had heard the name. "THE Quistis?" she raised a brow in fearful speculation.

"Yes," he went behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and declared, "This is her."

Unable to find a proper first word under all the awkwardness she was feeling, she simply beamed and extended her hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

With her hand in front of Laelia's face, she did not want to give a bad impression so she shook it. The moment was brief, but she felt how soft Quistis' palm was and couldn't help but frown in comparison with her daughter's sandpaper of a hand. "I'm surprised to finally meet you…under uncalled for circumstances." She was careful with courtesy because she wanted to be nice yet not very accepting of the thought that she was to marry Seifer instead of Aven. "By the way, this is my beautiful daughter Aven." Laelia took the liberty of introducing the two instead of Seifer. "You know, they used to date back at Winhill when Seifer lived with us at the inn."

Aven was a petite girl and was quite dainty with her brown hair braided and her floral dress beneath the aqua coat she wore. Her beauty was little different from Quistis' as she was anatomically thin and naturally pale despite working in a flower field. She hesitantly looked at Quistis with her umber eyes still misty from the news. She too did not want to be rude, but she could not smile either, so she did her bid by shaking Quistis' hand then threw her rough hands in the air and hastily exited the room in effort not to let them see that she was crying.

"Well, so much for introductions. I better go after her." Laelia dropped all her bags and strode out the room with random grumbles.

Seifer sighed an air of relief, "I'm glad that's over. I've never seen Aven so speechless."

"You're not gonna go after them?"

"And make things worse? Nah."

That said, "So, you dated Aven huh?" Quistis couldn't help but mention with folded arms.

"Don't tell me you're jealous of her," he quickly retorted.

"Now why would I be jealous?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

His sarcasm did not amuse her. She raised an unhappy brow, "well, I'm not. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a student with the same level of maturity as you whom I'm about to lecture on a topic I call Moral Decency."

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

It was late afternoon and Seifer was wrapping up to end his shift. He hasn't seen both Aven and Laelia since they walked out on him that morning. Seifer would be forced to fix the stuff they had inconveniently scattered on his doorstep if they weren't back by the time he got home. At least they brought him a lot of fresh vegetables from Winhill. He was sure they were fresh because it didn't mash even if Laelia kept hitting him with them earlier. He was still figuring out the details he needed to say in case they suddenly decided to ask about the whole engagement thing with Quistis. Plus, he also needed a plan on how to harass Xu for the mess she got him into. He could see her impishly smiling at him across the room, and if only he was the same man seven years ago he could've pounced on her and kicked her ass an hour ago. Things were different now, he had the ability to restrain himself from assaulting a very irritating little bitch bent with evil intentions. But it took a lot of mental effort to retain his composure.

A second more, he snapped. He gave her a dirty finger, slowly ran it across his neck as if to re-enact a murder scene, "You are so dead!"

Xu was far too evil for a measly threat that she laughed him off. "Oh this is great, here she comes." She waved her hand and yelled, "Seifer's right here!" then pretended to ignore him when Aven entered the door.

"I swear I will kill you Xu!" he yelled when he saw Aven charging at him with a fanatical smile that he always feared.

"OHH Seify-poo! You left this back at the house. I thought you purposely left it me, but it's got an initial of Q.T. on it, so maybe it's not for me…although I wish that it was. Well, is it!?" She handed him a silver pendant elegantly embedded with different semi-precious stones forming into Balamb Garden's emblem. The blue cross of the emblem was still missing a couple of stones, evidence that the piece was yet to be completed.

He got excited when he got hold of the pendant, "You found it!" He gave her a huge hug, one so big that he lifted her off the ground. "I thought I lost it!"

"I know, I love you too, but that did not answer my question."

"I made it for Quistis." He was all smiles when he announced that it was for her. After working so hard, finding the right material and hand carving it night after night for several weeks, it was only fair that he was elated to finally reunite with it. He studiously ignored the patter of words directed to him and only stared up when he noticed the noise has subsided. "Yeah," he said with a nod and prayed that he agreed to something reasonable despite not hearing the question.

"Fine, marry her if you want, but after two years we meet here after you divorce her."

He smirked when he realized he just gave the right answer. "Don't count on it. It's either her heart, or yours."

"So you'd rather break mine!?"

He scratched his nape and avoided her stare. "In the long run...I know I'll hurt you, so I might as well stop it now."

She took his chin to ask him intently, "And how sure are you, you won't be hurting hers?"

That question, asked straight to his face made his eyes grow wide and sharp. He had been asking himself that question for a long time now, but when raised by another person, it became a completely different matter. He knew he'd be hurting her as well, that is, if things became serious...seriously wrong. He could say nothing, just gulp down his thoughts and stare back.

"I knew it...but I can...I can hurt myself for you." She professed, and it sounded sweet, but stupid.

He took a step back and tuned away. "Then go ahead and become a martyr, but it'll always be Quistis that I'll choose."

"Seifer?"

Just then Quistis appeared from behind the door. Both stares seemed to look more than just a stare.

"Did I come at a wrong time?"

"No," Seifer smiled, "I was just about to go look for you."

"Then tell her you love her." Aven suddenly dared, loudly. "I want you to look at her straight in the eye and say that you love her, right here, right now."

Her scandal had caught the attention of those present in the café, including Duke Dollet and Xu. He took a big gulp as his throat suddenly dried up and his palms became sweaty. He could sense every eye in the room was waiting for his next move; even Quistis could not help but anxiously stare at him. He was in deep shit. "I think asking her to marry me says it all." He was sure everyone choked on his and her breath at that moment of declaration. He even caught sight of Xu collapsing on the table, unconscious.

"I-I see…." She could not contain the embarrassment that she ran out of the café shrieking in wretched sorrow. Sad.

Laelia witnessed her daughter's walkout and wanted to console her, but then she saw Quistis and requested they talk somewhere private. She motioned Quistis to follow her, but when she reacted a little slow, she grabbed her by the wrist and they made their way to one corner of the lobby.

"Tell me what you want from Seifer and what will it take for you to lose him." She immediately proposed in a loud whisper.

Laelia's statement caught her aback. She had to think fast if she wanted to convince her that she was serious with Seifer. "Nothing," she beamed slightly shaking her head. A lot of excuses crossed her mind as reason to what she meant by nothing, but one she chose to speak out, "We can't give up on each other, not when there's every reason to hold on to what we have." Instantly, she felt her heart compress when she realized how much emotion she managed to put in those vague words. She sounded like a woman in love!

"I've heard a great deal about you, coming from him and from SeeDs stationed at Winhill. Based from what I've been hearing and seeing you in the flesh it's no wonder he's crazy about you." Laelia, though disheartened at her daughter's chances of ever marrying Seifer, was happy with what she heard from Quistis' lips. "Now, I'm more sensible than my delusional daughter, and as painful as it is, I know he won't be coming home with us. We'll leave for Winhill first thing in tomorrow."

"I know we've only just met…and under awkward circumstances, but won't you stay a while longer? I know he misses you."

What she said made the menopausal woman smile. "You're a sweetheart for saying that, but for my daughter's sake, we best leave to keep her away from causing any more trouble."

Quistis had no argument there. "Thank you, for taking care of Seifer despite his, you know…" she didn't know how to say it.

"His being himself?" she laughed, as there was no way to describe Seifer.

"Yes," she chortled.

At that point, Laelia didn't stop herself from embracing Quistis. It was a proud moment for her, to have finally met the woman Seifer had been unfathomably in love with. "I know I'm supposed to be on my daughter's side, but I also love Seifer very much, and to see that he'll finally have his greatest dream fulfilled makes me happy. You know, between the two of you, I can sense he's the lucky one."

"I don't think I'm his greatest dream," she dismissed, aware of Laelia's intentions to flatter her.

"But you are!" she argued, insisting. "I know I swore to him that I wouldn't tell anyone, but since he already popped the question I'm sure he won't mind me telling you…"

She was curious as much as she was cautious, "tell me what?"

The middle-aged woman hesitated for a second, but said it anyway, "He speaks a lot about you. He is very proud of you that I see his eyes sparkle every time he says your name. If he is to marry anyone besides my daughter, I'm glad that it's you." However, Laelia's tone became sombre when she added, "He once told me that he didn't deserve you, but Quistis, I want you to know that Seifer loves you very much and will do anything for you because he knows…you're the one."

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

It was a long day, she woke up in her old room at Balamb Garden that morning, left for Dollet at dawn, agreed to join Seifer's mess, met his Winhill family, had everyone convinced they were engaged, and was granted the blessing to marry him by Seifer's adopted mother right before dusk. It was a lot to absorb in one day. The moment she arrived in her room, she locked the door and collapsed in bed. She was so tired that she could hear own breath, slow and deep. With her belly flat on the cushion and her arms in oblation, she blankly stared at her side table. For a moment, she contemplated on the photo she hadn't seen in a while, a picture of her and her lover whom she has not seen for eight months now. She smiled at the sight, but realizing that it has been that long made her sad. She closed her eyes and frowned at the thought. Just when she felt herself half-asleep, she heard short but consistent knocks on her door. Waiting a while longer to see that she wasn't dreaming, the knocks eventually got louder.

"Coming!" she groaned, dragging herself off her bed to open the door.

"Hey, did I wake you?" Seifer immediately asked when he noticed her eyes were barely open the moment he saw her.

Luckily, she was far too tired to be pissed, but she did manage to glower at him. "What now?"

"Can I stay here?" he asked, although it was clearly no question.

"Seifer, seriously!? I can't believe—NO!" She suddenly woke up when he grinned from cheek to cheek in effort to imitate Gabrielle's childish grin.

"C'mon, just let me stay here for tonight so they'll know I'm not foolin' around with them."

"By tonight, how many nights exactly?" she interrogated, because the last time he said tonight it ended up four nights of '_just tonight'_.

"Just until Laelia and Aven leaves for Winhill…I can't exactly cramp the three of us in my apartment. Besides, I'd rather stay with you in a hotel suite than in my freakin' hell of a room any day. Seriously, I hate that place, but it's the only one I got."

"Just so you know, you may be welcome to stay but I prefer you come here invited next time."

He simpered when she moved out of the way to let him in. "I'll keep that in mind." He casually strolled in and went straight to the bathroom with his bag. "If you don't mind, I need to take a shower."

"Of course I mind!" She growled, but that didn't really do much as he was already in the shower. "And you should know, Laelia told me they'll be leaving back for Winhill first thing tomorrow, so I expect you to do the same. And seriously, close the door!" she barked before slamming the door of her bathroom, but not without catching a glimpse of the silhouette behind the shower curtain.

With him out of the picture for a bit, she could not immediately sleep, so she turned to her old journal and started to scan to the page where Seifer had mentioned about the ring he had given her. Quistis had to flip back and forth between pages until she finally saw the words Couple's Amazing Race. She began to read what she had written. Loathing at her own narration, she pushed on to get the scoop on the story behind her favourite ring, an account she could never have imagined if not for her detailed hand-written narrative. Although at one point she was disgusted at her enthusiasm on comprehensive writing, she was glad that at least now she had a clue to most of Seifer's tattle.

Staring at the ring on her finger, she did not know where to place her feelings. At that point, she wanted to know, how badly did they fall for each other? And were they mad for doing so? Certainly, there was a lot controversy stirring when they left Balamb that morning. Her thoughts fell silent when she heard knocking on her door.

She slightly cracked the door open, "who is it?"

"It's Duke. May I speak with you for a moment?" he murmured, a little embarrassed and unsure about confronting her.

Staggered, she straightaway flung the door open to greet him. "Y-yes, of course! Please, come in, we can talk inside."

The moment he stepped in her room, he stopped in shock when he saw Seifer emerge from the bathroom. "Well, I suppose this answers the question I was about to ask."

Quistis turned to see a half-naked Seifer damping himself with one of her towels. Always in perfect timing to embarrass her, she could not immediately react, neither could he.

"I am rather surprised at how quickly things turned out between you two…should we discuss the contract in the morning?"

"We're not—it's not—this isn't what it looks like." Quistis quickly stuttered to clarify in her own ambiguous way.

Duke's grizzled brow rose in suspicion, "what is it then?"

Seifer put on his shirt before approaching the two at the door. He peeped out the hallway to see if anyone else was there and when he saw it clear he said, "It's a setup to get Aven off my back. She needs to get a clue that I'm not interested…so I had to make her believe I'm marryin' Quistis."

"Is this true?" He interrogated Quistis. "You know I have a pretty accurate lie detector in my office."

"It's true," she groaned. "I'm just doing him a favour. This is all a hoax gone wrong. We're not really engaged."

"Then why do you look so glum about it?" Seifer teased, unafraid to make things worse.

"Shut up! I'm just not happy about the fact that our little prank blew up into this mess."

Duke cleared his throat and roughly interrupted, "as long as we're clear, I can leave you two to discuss your…issues. Good night."

The moment she shut the door, she turned to him in exasperation. "You have no idea how much I hate you right now!"

"Hey," he tried to calm her down by grabbing her hands and tightly squeezing them together to ball, then kissing them he said, "thank you."

Flustered, she stepped back and pushed him off. "You should get some rest if you want to see them off at the station."

"Yeah, I probably should...did I mention they like collecting free souvenirs?"

"Do they?" she raised a brow, "I hope they didn't get anything from the hotel." The confession made her check the pockets of the pants she wore that day. When she felt the rolled up money she stuck in her pocket was still there she exhaled in relief.

He laughed, "of course they did! The café's missing a couple of teaspoons and dessert forks. But don't worry, I'll take them back tomorrow."

"You should because those are real silver," she yawned. She knew Seifer well enough to trust his words, so she didn't really worry. Besides, losing a few utensils was nothing new to the hotel as the temptation to horde them was inevitable. Her eyes wandered off to the bedside lamp not knowing that he was trailing her stare.

To his point of view, she was looking at the picture frame she had on the table and it immediately angered him, to stare lovingly at another man in his presence. "Can you get rid of the frame while I'm around? I don't like it." He casually demanded as he took the frame at waved it front of her face. He wanted to annoy her as much as she annoyed him.

She grabbed it from his hand, "give me that! You're crossing the line do you know that?!"

"Well you can't have it on display, not while Laelia and Aven are here. Besides, what's so appealing 'bout him anyway? How old is he…thirty?" He looked at her for a bit and caught her uncomfortable expression, "he looks a little old to be thirty."

She stared at him irate, then grumbled, "he's thirty four."

"Holy crap! Are you serious!?" Now was his chance to degrade him, "You can't be with a man who's in a desperate age to marry. He's gonna force ya to marry him even if he's financially and emotionally unstable—"

"Shut up Seifer, you don't even know the man!" Of course she was offended, she had to cut him off in defence. "He's pretty much set with his life. And unlike you, I think he knows a thing or two about financial and emotional stability."

With a possible berating about to occur, he might as well get on with it. "Then where the hell is he!? If he promised you he'd be here for your birthday, then he should've been there. If he said he'll be back in six months, then he should've been here two months ago! You can't just wait forever…what if he's not commin' back, what then?"

"And who are you to say that!? I've read the pages Seifer—I now know what you did and I can't just let you barge in my life like this. Do you realize that it pains me to act this kindly towards you knowing now the burden of others seeing us together? I'm not idiot Seifer—I know those stares they made in Balamb—"

He could no longer take kindly to her words that he forcefully pinned her to the wall to shut her up. "Enough! You have no idea with the hell I've been through just to get my life back together after I left. If the damage it left was losing your memory of me, mine is having to live with it." He breathed hard at her astonished face and gritted his teeth as he said in his most regretful tone, "I'm sorry I had to be the jerk I was…but don't give up on me now." He hugged her. "Please."

Clasped under his weight, she could not immediately place her feeling towards his sentiments. She was numb but could feel a surge of emotions pumping in her system. Drowned in his words and heavy breathing she slowly motioned him to release her. She stayed flat on the wall as he stepped back to reveal his remorseful face. "I…I can't cheat on him…it's not as simple as asking me a favour." For someone who's supposedly smart, he certainly had the power to keep her mum, but she had to dissuade him from making any more moves. "I know we have to deal with the contract besides coming to terms with our past. I hate this." She walked to her bed and sat there covering her face to close her eyes and think.

He took a deep sigh, "if it's any consolation, I also hate what Duke is tryin' to make us do…I wish I could just…I don't know."

By the time she looked at him her mind was made up, "two more months, I'll wait for him…and if he's not here then maybe…"

"I can't wait that long." Frank as ever, he explained, "I've waited five years to be you, what you're asking me is far too long."

"Do you want to sleep with me that badly? If you have any respect for me whatsoever, then you should consider my decision."

He was offended at how she thought of him, though partially true, he had bigger reasons. "This isn't about sex Quis…it's much more than that. Don't you get it? I don't come here forcing you to sleep with me. I come here just so I can be with you, nothing more."

* * *

**o O o**

* * *

Right before the clock struck midnight, she stirred out of bed and gazed across the room to check if he was sound asleep. He was enveloped snugly in her blanket, unmoving, yet a little loud with his snoring. Funny how, despite their argument earlier, she still managed to let him stay. Her decision was a little regrettable because his presence made her uncomfortable to sleep like she usually would, arms and legs spread out across her bed. Since he was there, she was forced to turn to the opposite side of bed away from Seifer's view. She had to tiptoe her way out the room just to make sure he would not notice her leave. The moment she shut lock the knob on the other side of the door, she flinched in startle when she saw Xu caught her red handed. Apparently, she was as interested with finding out the truth as Duke was…even if it meant sleeping guard outside the hallway.

"Wait, so let me get this straight…you agreed to play his little game and now you're letting him stay over at your place!?"

"I'm just doing him a favour. It's only for tonight." She whispered loudly, in fear that the commotion would wake him.

"Dude, you're crazy! You do realize that you're exactly being a victim to his intentions? You're being too easy on him!" Xu was keen on showing her she was not amused. "I did not just send them a letter to come all the way here just so they can see that the man they're supposed to fetch has found his one true love! This is not how you should play the game!"

"I don't see it as that. I mean, the way I see it, this isn't really part of the game. Seifer's not in love with the girl and he needs to get his message across. I just wanted to help him."

"Listen to what you're saying! Look at you! You're even going on this stupid diet just so you can look good in front of him! It's barely been two months and already out flirting with the guy!" She paused and looked hard at her, "You can't give him mixed signals because I know how badly he wants you. I'm telling you now, don't be stupid and do the same mistake twice with the same idiot."

Quistis stood quiet for a while, sighed, then admitted, "There's something about him I can't ignore. The way he looks at me makes me want to console him. I can't just turn him away, not like this…."

"Are you freakin' falling the guy!?" She was in disbelief.

"What!? Don't be ridiculous—I don't fall that easily, besides, I'm still in a relationship with Xaldin."

"Quis, trust me when I say that you have no idea how stupid you get when it comes to love. You fall so fast so easily that I'm not even gonna start laughing again as I recall the day you said Xaldin was already your boyfriend. He barely courted you and already you believe it's true love!"

She knew that if she didn't stop Xu, the insults would go on. "Stop it!" she yelled. "I know you're not that happy with me and Xaldin. I also know how much you hate Seifer…but this is something you just have to trust me with."

"I trust you. It's them I don't trust."

"What do you want me to do then?"

"Don't give him any reason to be hopeful that he has a chance of getting you back."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Xu shook her head, "No, I don't think you do."

She gave a loud grunt to express her displeasure. She began to walk away from Xu, but her quick steps were no match to the petite's sprint. "Say what you want, but I think I know how to handle the situation. Now go back to your room because there's nothing to see here."

"Fine, but only if you tell me what you're up to."

"I'm going out to get some fresh air."

"LIE!" She didn't care that her cry could've alarmed everyone in the floor. "You've always been a terrible liar! It's freezing out and you never go out to get fresh air in this hour."

"I'm going out to see the fortune teller, alright? If you're happy with my answer, we can talk about this in the morning!" Her tone had gotten fierce, Xu has pulled her last nerve and she was making it obvious by her livid stare.

Finally, she got the message Quistis was sending, so she conceded by turning her pace to the opposite direction. "Fine, just say hi to that old crack for me then."

Walking out to the lonely fountain in Dollet Square, she experienced the first snowfall of Dollet that year. The glistening flakes fell softly on her hair and shoulders like cold dandruff. It was very quiet and eerie and beautiful. She stood quietly for a while to gaze up and see the speckles of white fall from the dark sky. Before long everything was covered in white. Smoke came out her lips when she sighed.

A few minutes more, she heard a lot of rattling noises coming from behind the fountain's statue. An old uncanny voice grumbled curses as bottles clanked in noisy fashion. Quistis approached the black cloaked hag and tapped her shoulder.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?" the crazy woman reacted in manic surprise.

Quistis jumped back to a defensive stance, "I need a word with you."

"Oh, it's you. Well spill it!"

"I've been getting real bad heartburns lately, and I sort of blame you."

"What the hell did I do!?" she nattered.

"I think your potion's making my heart ache whenever I think about Seifer."

"Hmmm...I'll take note of that."

"Aren't you suppose to do something about it!?"

"No...my potions don't come with a warranty."

"Then at least tell me what the hell is going on!"

"I suspect you're having very strong feelings for him, and the potion could no longer neutralize it, that's why it hurts. I suppose it's warning you...you're falling in love with the man."

"What? No, of course not!"

"Then what the hell do you want from me!?"

"I'd like another neutralizing potion or anything that can make me numb whenever he's around."

"HEY! Don't take my potions like some sort of candy or even like a medicine that can just take away the pain at your bidding. You can't just go gulping on a bottle every time you feel like it. The potion I gave was a potent one, so don't expect me to give you anything for the next six months or so." She went on with her lecture acting all deranged, "And don't assume I don't remember you! I know exactly how much potions you've been taking, including the ones that man and that little bitch has been feeding you. Take any more and you'll wound up all cuckoo—just like me!" She then proceeded with a long boisterous cackle.

Aurora made it clear, she cannot afford another dose without suffering the consequences. An advice was all she could ask for. "What do I do then?"

"Two things darlin', either run away to Shumi Village or just sleep with the freakin' man. Now go away! I'm busy!"

She looked around, there was no one else in sight. She looked at Lady Aurora and she wasn't doing anything. "Please, you have to help me."

The old lady made a groaning sigh. "If you want my opinion, then I suggest you do something about it and not come to me makin' some poor excuses just because your will is stronger than my magic. But if what you say is true, then I think you should start accepting the fact that there's more to that man than what you think he is. Remember, fate will always triumph over petty magical tonics." That said, she gathered her stuff and disappeared in the misty street of Dollet.

Left alone and distressed with Aurora's statement, she blew a plume of cold smoke in respire. Several questions came to mind, and it scared her. Everything that was happening was not in her plan and she was scared of what was to happen with her life. She was scared about her contract with Duke, scared of Xaldin coming back and finding out the mess she agreed to be a part of. She was scared of what's to happen between her and Seifer. She knew she wasn't falling for him just yet, that there were forces much greater than any magic that's telling her to hold on to whatever they had. Another piercing throb stuck her chest that she curdled in pain, whimpered to the air, "I don't know what to do…" and wept.


End file.
